(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-26 15:57

SINGAPORE  -- Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI Corp and Pacnetto to build a new ultra-high-speed submarine cable system that will link the United States and Japan.

The US$300 million cable system will span 10,000 km across the Pacific Ocean, linking Chikura in Japan directly to Los Angeles, said SingTel in a news release.

It added that the cable is expected to be ready for service in the first quarter of 2010.

"This new submarine cable network, with its high capacity and resilient transmission infrastructure, will be able to meet the strong demand for data, e-commerce and Internet traffic between Asia and the United States," said Mark Chong, SingTel's Executive Vice President for Networks.

"As it is connected to other cable systems in Asia, it will also provide access to other parts of the region and serve as an important cable diversity route," he added.

NEC Corp and Tyco Telecommunications have been jointly awarded the contract to implement this project, SingTel said.