AUG East cable to meet surging AI bandwidth demand

　　NEC Corporation has been selected to build the Asia United Gateway East (AUG East) submarine cable system, which will connect Singapore and Japan with links to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.

　　The 8,900km AUG East submarine cable system will increase capacity in the East Asia region. It is being built in anticipation of the rapid growth of network traffic from artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled applications.

　　"The surge in demand for high-speed connectivity and the bandwidth needed for AI innovation in the region makes developing resilient, high-capacity digital infrastructure more important than ever," said Alan Tan, chairperson of the Asia United Gateway Cable Management Committee and Singtel's director of submarine cable planning, in a statement released Wednesday.

　　Citing figures from Omdia, Singtel stated that, by 2031, global network traffic from AI and AI-enhanced applications is expected to exceed that from conventional applications. By 2033, it is projected that approximately 62% of global monthly network traffic will come from AI and AI-enabled applications.

　　Providing network diversity in the East Asia

　　Tan noted that connecting the digital hubs of Singapore and Japan via the new AUG East cable system will strengthen and improve the reliability and diversity of the network along this important route.

　　"This investment will play a critical role in advancing digital inclusion and catalysing economic growth across the region," Tan said.

　　Singtel is leading the consortium formed to finance the new submarine cable system, though financial details of the investment have not been disclosed.  The other members of the consortium include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Arteria Networks, Chunghwa Telecom, Dreamline, Globe Telecom, Telekom Malaysia and Unified National Networks.

　　The AUG East submarine cable system is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2029.

　　According to Singtel, the AUG East system will use the latest submarine fiber-optic technology. It will be a "high-count fiber pair system" capable of supporting millions of simultaneous ultra-high-definition video streams. The system is designed to complement existing submarine cable systems in the region by providing additional bandwidth to meet voracious demand for reliable and low-latency data access.