(Thai Press Reports via NewsEdge) Vietnam's EVN Telecom said it will team up with Singapore-based VSNL International to invest $200 million in an underwater fiber optic cable network which will link major telecom hubs in Asia.
The network will help reduce congestion in Internet traffic, which was paralyzed earlier this year when an undersea earthquake severed the main line connecting Asian servers.
The cable's initial capacity will be 320 Gbps, and will later be upgraded to 5.6 Tbps, according to EVN Telecom, a subsidiary of State-owned utility Electricity of Vietnam.
The cable will travel 6,800 km, connecting Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Guam.
The new network will also connect Asian servers to the US via an existing TGN-P optical cable in Japan and to Europe via the TIC optical cable in Singapore.
VSNL International is a leading provider of undersea and satellite network communications solutions.
Last week, EVN Telecom also reported its one-millionth telephone subscriber after only a year of operations, making it the country's largest provider of wireless and fixed telephone service.
The company this year plans to double the number of base transmission stations it operates to 2,000, which will help expand the footprint of its mobile phone network.
© 2007 Thai Press Reports
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