I-2SEA Submarine Cable System Unveiled

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A technology consortium including Microsoft, Singtel, Tata Communications, and Lightstorm has signed contracts to build the I-2SEA submarine cable system.
The project aims to meet the rapidly growing demand for AI, cloud computing, and hyperscale connectivity between India and Southeast Asia.

The India-Southeast Asia (I-2SEA) cable system is a next-generation optoelectronic fiber-optic network laid across the ocean floor.
Undersea fiber-optic cables carry the majority of global internet and telecommunications traffic between continents.
Unlike older subsea cables designed for general web browsing, this system is specifically built to handle heavy data loads for AI model training, GPU clusters, and hyperscale workloads.
The subsea route of this high-capacity cable will cover a distance of approximately 3,600 km.

In Southeast Asia, the system connects Singapore, a major cloud interconnect hub, with Kuala Lumpur, the heart of Malaysia's data center corridor.
In India, the cable features two strategically separate landing sites on the east coast at Machilipatnam and South Chennai.
The Machilipatnam site provides the shortest subsea connection to large AI data clusters located in Hyderabad.
The South Chennai site offers a new landing location that helps bypass heavily congested existing subsea shipping routes.
Onshore links will connect the system from Machilipatnam to Mumbai and over 80 data centres across India.

The main objective is to provide high-capacity, low-latency digital connectivity for organizations running complex AI models.
It specifically serves hyperscalers, GPU infrastructure providers, and enterprises conducting real-time AI training.
The cable will create the fastest data transmission link along the Singapore-Malaysia-Hyderabad city corridor.

High-speed data generated by cloud nodes or AI models moves across the ocean through the 3,600 km subsea cable.
The signals reach Indian shores at carrier-neutral landing stations managed by Lightstorm.
Onshore equipment plugs the subsea signal directly into Lightstorm's 30,000 km land-based fiber network.
Companies can track data paths in real time and expand network capacity instantly using the SmartNet AI Fabric and Polarin platform.

The architecture features carrier-neutral landing infrastructure and an open, interoperable design.
To protect against damage from shipping traffic in the Malacca Strait and Bay of Bengal, the cable will be buried three meters deep in shallow waters.
The project is structured under a Joint Build Agreement between global technology companies and regional network operators.
Japanese firm NEC Corporation serves as the main system supplier providing subsea hardware.
Marine deployment, sea trenching, and route clearance will be carried out by ASEAN Cableship Pte Ltd (ACPL).

The subsea cable system is scheduled to become operational by Q4 2029.
It will strengthen digital links and infrastructure cooperation between India and Southeast Asia.
The project will boost the growth of AI infrastructure, cloud services, and the broader digital economy across both regions.