Pranav Hotkar
Jakarta, Indonesia - July 21, 2026 - PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), Nongsa Digital Park, and BW Digital have strengthened their partnership to develop the Nongsa-Changi Cable (NCC) submarine cable system, a move aimed at enhancing cross-border connectivity and supporting the rapid expansion of AI-ready data centers across Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The NCC system will establish a direct, high-capacity fiber-optic connection between Nongsa Digital Park in Batam, Indonesia, and Changi in Singapore, creating one of the shortest subsea routes across the Singapore Strait. The project is designed to deliver low-latency, resilient connectivity for hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises, carriers, and data center operators as regional demand for AI infrastructure and digital services continues to grow.
The announcement reinforces Indonesia's ambition to position Batam as a strategic digital gateway linking Southeast Asia's expanding data center ecosystem with Singapore, one of the world's largest interconnection hubs. By combining Batam's growing availability of land and power with Singapore's mature connectivity ecosystem, the partners aim to create a complementary platform capable of supporting next-generation AI and cloud deployments.
For the data center industry, the NCC project addresses one of the most critical infrastructure requirements beyond power availability: high-capacity international connectivity. As AI workloads become increasingly distributed across multiple regions, operators require diverse, low-latency fiber routes that enable real-time data exchange between hyperscale campuses, cloud regions, and enterprise facilities. The new cable is expected to improve network resilience while providing an additional international pathway for digital traffic between Indonesia and Singapore.
BW Digital, which is developing digital infrastructure projects across the Asia-Pacific region, will work alongside Telin and Nongsa Digital Park to integrate the submarine cable with emerging data center developments in Batam. The collaboration is expected to strengthen the island's attractiveness as a destination for hyperscale investment, particularly as operators seek alternative locations to complement Singapore amid ongoing capacity and land constraints.
The partners said the NCC cable represents the first segment of the broader Indonesia Cable Express (ICE) system, which is intended to expand regional connectivity and support the region's evolving digital economy. The infrastructure will provide carrier-grade capacity for cloud services, AI applications, enterprise workloads, and international internet traffic while laying the foundation for future network expansion.
The initiative reflects a broader trend across Southeast Asia, where submarine cable investments are increasingly being aligned with data center development rather than traditional telecommunications demand alone. As AI adoption accelerates and hyperscale operators continue expanding across the region, integrated investments in subsea connectivity and digital infrastructure are becoming essential to supporting high-performance computing, cloud services, and cross-border data exchange.
