Jan 10 2008
Matrix Networks Pte Ltd and PT NAP Info Lintas Nusa, together with their supplier, Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology and marine services, today announced the completion of construction on the Batam shore-end cable lay portion of the Matrix Cable System and the beginning of construction on the Jakarta shore-end cable lay. The Matrix Cable System is an approximately 1,000 km undersea fiber optic system that will provide robust, high bandwidth connectivity between Jakarta, and Batam, Indonesia and Singapore.
Tyco Telecommunications was awarded the contract to construct the undersea fiber optic cable last year. Subsequently, Tyco Telecommunications completed the marine route survey in August 2007, while both NAP Info and Matrix Networks acquired landing stations several months ago and commenced terrestrial construction works. The system, expected to be completed in second quarter 2008, will serve several growing Indonesian markets that are currently underserved.
“Indonesia and neighboring areas are long overdue for a significant increase in capacity to support high-bandwidth applications,” said Jim Schweigert, general manager of Matrix Networks. “We are confident that the state-of-the-art system we are building with Tyco Telecommunications will provide the region with a reliable and flexible infrastructure to connect it to the international telecommunications gateway.”
“We firmly believe that as a neutral international cable carrier that serves Singapore – Jakarta with a direct link, we can provide a world-class high quality service to our potential customers,” said Patrick Adhiatmadja, senior vice president, PT NAP Info Lintas Nusa. “Moreover, this project is important to support the Indonesian government’s mission to minimize the digital divide in Indonesia by enabling reliable and affordable Internet communications.”
The system will be comprised of a four fiber pair trunk between Singapore and Jakarta, with an active branch to Batam in the Riau Islands Province. The design also facilitates a future connection to Perth, Australia and the companies are currently in discussions with potential landing partners in Australia. With a total bandwidth of nearly 2.6 Terabits, the system’s use of dense wavelength division multimplexing (DWDM) technology will support the transmittal of 64 10 Gigabit wavelengths on each fiber pair.
“Beginning construction with Matrix on the system to connect Indonesia to Singapore marks a significant technological advancement for the region,” said Rob Munier, managing director for global solutions at Tyco Telecommunications. “We are deploying the latest generation of highly efficient subsea equipment, to ensure the reliability of this regional system matches that of a trans-oceanic system, while reducing both capital and operating expenditures.”