SEA-US: Global Consortium to Build Cable System Connecting Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A consortium of seven global telecommunications companies agreed today to cooperate in the construction and operation of a new submarine cable system that directly connects Southeast Asia and the United States with NEC Corporation as the system supplier. The Southeast Asia - United States "SEA-US" consortium consists of PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), Globe Telecom, RAM Telecom International (RTI), Hawaiian Telcom, Teleguam Holdings (GTA), GTI Corporation (a member of the Globe Telecom group of companies) and Telkom USA.

"The SEA-US project is connected seamlessly with Telkom's Domestic Backbone, and the cable will provide unmatched latency from Indonesia to the United States," said Syarif Syarial Ahmad, President Director of Telin. "The project will also support Indonesia's strong economic growth and its government's Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI). We began pursuing SEA-US in 2013 and are very proud to be a part of this historic project that marks the first gateway from the east part of Indonesia to the world."

In addition, Gil Genio, Chief Operating Officer for International and Business Markets of Globe Telecom, stated, "Our country has become the preferred destination for the outsourcing and offshoring industry, including major call centers, business process outsourcing providers, global financial institutions and a host of other multinationals that require very large bandwidth. We have also seen the explosion of the mobile Internet, enabling a new lifestyle for our mobile customers and businesses. The SEA-US project will enable Globe to meet tomorrow's bandwidth needs, and is part of our effort to provide a great customer experience on their mobile and other devices, as well as add even more diverse options for companies to connect to the U.S."

Russ Matulich, Chief Executive Officer of RTI, continued, "The SEA-US Cable will provide much needed Asia-US connectivity and will be the fastest cable connecting Southeast Asia with the United States. It provides essential route diversity from the North Pacific and taps into to the strong economic growth of more than 1.5 billion businesses and consumers who are internet savvy and data hungry."

"Guam is a strategic location in the Pacific which allows GTA to successfully connect the Asia Pacific region to the United States. GTA's expansive and redundant network enables secure interconnectivity to other cables, increasing Guam's importance to future cable builds," said Robert Haulbrook, CEO and President of GTA.

Eric Yeaman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Telcom, said that "Hawaiian Telcom's participation in the SEA-US project strengthens Hawaii's role as a key strategic hub for traffic diversity and redundancy between the US and Asia. Additionally, investing in the SEA-US system will allow Hawaiian Telcom to efficiently meet its internal long-term Trans-Pacific capacity needs, as our customers increasing demand for bandwidth continues to grow."

The SEA-US submarine cable system links the five areas and territories of Manado (Indonesia), Davao (Philippines), Piti (Guam), Oahu (Hawaii, United States) and Los Angeles (California, United States). The system will be approximately 15,000 kilometers in length, avoiding earthquake prone areas in East Asia, and thereby helping to ensure stable connectivity.

When completed in the fourth quarter of 2016 at an approximate cost of US $250 million, the cable system will provide an additional 20Tb/s capacity, connecting Indonesia and the Philippines to the United States with state-of-the-art 100G technology. This capacity will cater to the exponential growth of bandwidth demand between both continents.

"Backed by more than 40 years of experience in constructing over 200,000 kilometers of submarine cable infrastructure, NEC is one of the world's top vendors of submarine cable systems," said Mr. Naoki Yoshida, General Manager at NEC's Submarine Network Division. "The construction of this advanced system enables NEC to capitalize on its experience and contribute to worldwide communications by expanding connectivity and capacity to this increasingly important Trans-Pacific route."

About Telin

PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin) is a subsidiary of PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, tbk, a state-owned telecommunication and network provider. Telin focuses as an international carrier services and strategic investment in international telecommunication business as well as serves as Telkom's business arms in managing and developing its business lines abroad. With mission The World's Hub for Telecommunication, Information, Media, Edutainment and Services (TIMES), currently Telin owns 8 subsidiaries namely Telin Singapore, Telin Hong-Kong, Telin Timor-Leste with its product called Telkomcel, Telkom Australia, Telin Malaysia, Telkom Macau, Telkom Taiwan, Telkom USA, and a branch in Myanmar. With the synergy of TelkomGroup compiled with reliable networks and infrastructures, enable Telin to provide high quality services that reaches all parts of the world.

For more information, please go to www.telin.co.id.

About Globe Telecom:

Globe Telecom, Inc. is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services. Its principals are Ayala Corporation and SingTel who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region.

For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globe and Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH.

About RTI:

RAM Telecom International, Inc. (RTI) develops global telecom infrastructure and large-scale data connectivity in selected markets. RTI offers neutral services to telecommunications carrier, large multi-national enterprises, content providers, and government entities. RTI is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

For more information, please visit us at www.rticable.com.

About Hawaiian Telecom:

Hawaiian Telcom, headquartered in Honolulu, is Hawai'i's leading provider of integrated communications, data center and entertainment solutions for business and residential customers. With roots in Hawai'i beginning in 1883, the Company offers a full range of services including voice, video, Internet, data solutions, managed services, data center services including colocation and virtual private cloud, and other cloud-based services, and wireless supported by the reach and reliability of its network and Hawai'i's only 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom provides an Always On^SM customer experience.

For more information, visit www.hawaiiantel.com.

About GTA:

GTA provides complete communications services in Guam. These include local and long-distance telephone service, wireless, DSL internet access, advanced digital television, or IPTV, and carrier-class data circuits. The company also operates a data center in Guam for offering business data storage and managed wide-area networking. Based in Tamuning, Guam, GTA is privately owned and locally managed.

About GTI Corporation:

GTI Corporation is doing business as GTI Telecom in the State of California. GTI is a wholly owned subsidiary of GTI Business Holdings, Inc., who in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Inc. GTI was granted a 214 license by the US Federal Communications Commission on February 2010 that authorizes GTI to engage in both wireless resale and facilities-based carrier services in the USA.

For more information, visit www.globemobile.us.

About Telkom USA:

Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (USA), Inc. (Telkom USA) was established on 11^th December 2013. Located in California and becomes subsidiary with 100% of its shares owned by PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin). Telkom USA performs telecommunications products, telecommunications services, Information Technology (IT), Information technology products and information technology services business.

About NEC Corporation:

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.

For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

SOURCE Globe Telecom, Inc.