18 July 2025
NEC has secured a contract with a consortium led by Singtel to develop the Asia United Gateway East (AUG East), a new high-capacity subsea cable system linking Singapore and Japan with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Stretching approximately 8,900km, AUG East aims to meet rising demand for bandwidth across the region while enhancing network resilience. The consortium includes major industry players such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Arteria Networks, Chunghwa Telecom, Dreamline, Globe Telecom, Telekom Malaysia, and Unified National Networks.
While NEC did not specify the exact capacity of the system, it described AUG East as a ‘high-count fibre pair system delivering unprecedented bandwidth capacity,’ designed to support the exponential growth of AI-driven traffic. This aligns with recent forecasts from Omdia, which predicts that global network traffic generated by AI and AI-enhanced applications will surpass traditional traffic by 2031, especially in Asia-Pacific where regional investments in digital infrastructure and generative AI are accelerating, according to BCG.
“With the surge in demand for high-speed connectivity and the bandwidth needed for AI innovation, developing resilient, high-capacity digital infrastructure is more critical than ever. This investment will be key to advancing digital inclusion and driving economic growth throughout the region,” said Alan Tan, Chairperson of the Asia United Gateway Cable Management Committee and Director of Submarine Cable Planning at Singtel.
The AUG East system is targeted for completion by the third quarter of 2029, promising to significantly bolster Asia-Pacific’s digital backbone and support future technological advancements.
