The ADC Consortium recently celebrated the inauguration of the Asia Direct Cable (ADC), an ambitious project that saw NEC both manufacture and install the cable that is approximately 10,000 km long.

Per press releases and multiple industry reports, the ADC connects several key locations across East and Southeast Asia, including China (Hong Kong SAR and Guangdong Province), Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ADC has multiple pairs of high-capacity optical fibers and is designed to carry more than 160 Tbps of traffic, enabling high-capacity transmission of data across the East and Southeast Asian regions.

“This new cable marks a significant milestone, providing a vital foundation to support the ever-growing communications needs of Asia and the world,” said Koji Ishii, MC Co-Chairperson of the ADC Consortium. “The milestone represents the culmination of our efforts to overcome numerous challenges, made possible through steadfast collaboration and partnerships with esteemed stakeholders from various countries, including NEC. We are confident that this cable system will significantly contribute to the development of the AI industry in the Asia region.”

“NEC has earned the trust of its clients, and the consortium is extremely satisfied with the successful completion of this cable,” said Billy Li, MC Co-Chairperson of the ADC Consortium. “It offers the greatest cable capacity and essential diversity required for Asia’s major information hubs, enabling telecom carriers and service providers to optimize their network and service planning for sustainable growth.”

“NEC is honored to have taken part in this prestigious project, which will support increasingly bandwidth-intensive applications driven by technological advancements in 5G, the cloud, the Internet-of-Things and Artificial Intelligence,” NEC Corporation Senior Vice President Tomonori Uematsu said in a press release. “We thank the consortium for their partnership and for helping us to push the boundaries of numerous challenges to bring this project to fruition.”

NEC has been a leading supplier of submarine cable systems for more than 60 years, and has built more than 400,000 km of cable, spanning the earth nearly 10 times. NEC’s subsidiary OCC Corporation manufactures optical submarine cables capable of withstanding water pressures at ocean depths beyond 8,000 meters.

The ADC Consortium includes leading communications and technology companies NT (Thailand), China Telecom, China Unicom, PLDT Inc., Singtel, SoftBank Corp., Tata Communications and Viettel.

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) has won an order for submarine cable from the Ooredoo Group to build what was described as “one of the largest international submarine cables” in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

A press release said that the project, called the Fibre in Gulf, will connect the GCC countries and Iraq. The length of the cable was not specified, but several estimates put it at about 2,000 km. The project, scheduled for completion in 2027, will provide GCC countries with a low latency, shorter and secure route to a new corridor, connecting Europe with up to 24 fiber pairs and a capacity of up to 720 Tbps. The project will “significantly enhance regional connectivity and solidify Ooredoo’s leadership in digital infrastructure.”

ASN CEO Alain Biston said his company was honored to be chosen for the project. He said that it is a “game-changing initiative that will mark a turning point in regional connectivity across the GCC.”

Ooredoo noted that it has been cementing its position as a leading digital infrastructure provider in the region through its work in AI, data centers, submarine cable systems, fintech and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

Ooredoo Group CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo said that the project aligns with his company’s ambitious strategy to position itself as a key player in addressing the rapidly growing data demand between Asia and Europe.

Last year Ooredoo Oman signed an agreement to land the 2 Africa Cable System in Barka and Salalah in Oman. Of note, the initiative also comes at a time when several regional telecom companies are launching projects to connect Africa, Europe and Asia, partly due to rising security concerns following attacks in recent years.

A press release said that the addition will bolster Marmon’s operation. “With our recent opening of the Hooksett, New Hampshire, marine power cable facility and this strategic acquisition of Marine Tech, we will be able to provide our customers with increased capacity, shorter lead times, and a full offering of cables to support our military and the U.S. Navy ship builders,” said Marmon A&D President Charles Clement.

Based in York, Pennsylvania, Marine Tech is a manufacturer of electrical wire and cable that specializes in the production of circuit integrity cable for use in U.S. Navy ships. Its product lines include offering power, specialty, lightweight, low smoke, silicone, and watertight circuit integrity cabling for mission-critical shipboard applications. Its multiconductor cables are used in ships, oil drilling platforms and other industrial applications that require high performance in challenging environments. The company was co-founded in 2000 by Mark Lindsay and Kosta Kontanis, and began operations with four employees in a 30,000-sq-ft facility in York, Pennsylvania. In 2004, it moved to a larger location in York where it leases 50,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and has more than two dozen employees.

“We are excited to welcome Marine Tech to the Marmon family. Their expertise in the design and manufacturing of circuit integrity cable will align perfectly with our current shipboard product line and will allow us to support all major Navy ship contracts.” said Robert Canny, senior vice president of Marmon A&D Group.

“This acquisition is an exciting new chapter for Marine Tech, and we are eager to join Marmon. With our combined capabilities, we will bring a new level of value to our customer base,” said owners Mark Lindsay and Kosta Kontanis. Both men will be staying with the business and working to support continued growth.