Jio says deploying submarine cable systems to Singapore; Middle East & Europe to address data demand

On Monday, Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) announced that it is developing submarine cable systems linking India eastbound to Singapore and beyond, dubbed the India-Asia-Xpress (IAX), and India westbound to the Middle East and Europe, via the India-Europe-Xpress.

The projects are being carried out in collaboration with several key global collaborators and submarine cable suppliers SubCom, with the goal of supporting the region's "rapid development" in data demand.

Submarine cable systems are considered to be interconnect as well as connect to the largest interexchange points and content hubs for the extension of global service.

According to the company, IAX and IEX will improve consumer and enterprise users' capability to obtain content and cloud services in and out of India.

These systems with high-capacity and high-speed would span 16,000 kilometres and provide > 200Tbps of capacity. The systems would use open system technology as well as wavelength switched RoADM/branching units.

Mr. Mathew Oommen, President, Reliance Jio, said, “Jio is leading the development of the first-of-its-kind, India-centric IAX and IEX subsea networks to fulfil the requirements of Streaming Video, Remote Workforce, 5G, IoT, and beyond.”

He added, “Implementing these vital measures in the midst of a global pandemic is challenging, but the current pandemic has only intensified the digital transformation and the need for high-performance global connectivity to provide businesses and customers with a richer experience.”

The IAX system links India to Asia Pacific markets with faster connectivity from Chennai and Mumbai to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, while the IEX system links India's connectivity to Italy, landing in Savona, and additional landings in the North America and Middle East.

The two networks are both linked to the Reliance Jio Global Fibre Network, which extends across Asia Pacific and Europe to include both the east and west coasts of the US.

IAX is scheduled to be operational in mid-2023, while IEX will be operational in early 2024.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.