Under the terms of the agreement, KMH, a subsidiary of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) grants Converge an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) for one fibre pair on the main trunk of Bifrost Cable System.
In addition, KMH and Converge will jointly develop a branch on the Bifrost Cable System that will land in Davao, Philippines, with Converge also being granted an IRU on the entire Davao branch.
“We are pleased to partner Converge through Bifrost, which is a significant transnational infrastructure project, enhancing the inter-connectivity between ASEAN countries,” said Thomas Pang (pictured), CEO of Keppel T&T.
“Through this partnership, we will be able to accelerate the growth of our connectivity platform, which is in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, as well as explore synergies with not only Keppel’s data centres, but also Converge’s data centre business.”
For its part Converge will invest over $100 million on the project and act the landing party for the Davao branch segment.
Announced in March, the Bifrost Cable System, will be jointly owned and developed by Google, Telin and Keppel.
Once completed in 2024, the 15,000km system will be the largest capacity high-speed transmission cable across the Pacific Ocean connecting the west coast of North America via Indonesia through the Java Sea and Celebes Sea. It will connect Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, and the west coast of North America.
“Our investment into one full fibre pair, connecting us to Singapore and the west coast of North America, will allow us to independently activate at will up to 15Tbps of capacity to either country using the latest technology,” added Dennis Anthony Uy, CEO of Converge.
“Furthermore, our ongoing construction of our National backbone spanning the whole country will allow Converge to distribute this capacity from Davao to any point in the Philippines. We look forward to a continued strong collaboration with Keppel to bring our countries closer together and further enhance the connection of the region to the rest of the world.”
The transaction with Converge is still undergoing negotiations and awaits the completion of definitive agreements, as well as relevant regulatory approvals.
