PR Archives:  LatestBy Company By Date


Press Release -- December 5th, 2012
Source: NTT Communications
Tags:

NTT Communications connects Asia Submarine-cable Express to Hong Kong

Strengthens Hong Kong’s position as a global financial hub with seamless interconnections to the thriving economies in Asia

(Hong Kong – 5 December 2012) — NTT Communications Corporation’s regional headquarters in East Asia – NTT Com Asia announced that the ultra-low latency Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) is officially connected to Hong Kong. The new subsea cable, with a total carrying capacity of more than 15 Terabits per second (Tbps), will strengthen Hong Kong SAR’s telecommunications infrastructure and consolidate its position as a financial hub by providing higher capacity and resiliency.

Guests officiating at the Cable Landing Ceremony held on 30 November were:

  • Miss Eliza Lee, Director-General of Communications, Office of the Communications Authority, the HKSAR Government
  • Mr. E Anthony Tan, CEO, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
  • Mr. Charles Mok, Legislative Council member (ITFC)
  • Mr. Kenji Takase, Director, Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, NTT Communications Corporation
  • Mr. Brandon Lee, Chief Strategy Officer, NTT Com Asia Limited

The ASE links Hong Kong with major business hubs across East Asia including Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. Incorporating the latest optical fiber technology, its 15 Tbps capacity is equivalent to over 60 times of the peak total internet traffic in Hong Kong in 2012. While the demand for bandwidth on intra-Asian submarine cables is projected to grow drastically between 2011 and 2018 (averaging close to 40% growth per annum), the new cable system will equip Hong Kong and East Asia with the additional capacity to meet this growth.

“As the reliance on global network connectivity, fuelled by rising internet usage, reaches new heights in Hong Kong, businesses are seeking for faster and more reliable network services. The ASE will offer both unparallel ultra-low latency performance to the region as well as high resiliency on natural disasters and support enterprises’ growth in particular financial institutions for which every millisecond counts in the highly competitive market,” said Mr. Brandon Lee, Chief Strategy Officer, NTT Com Asia.

“We warmly welcome the landing of the ASE in Hong Kong. This new submarine cable system, the eighth in Hong Kong, will not only boost significantly our external telecommunications capacity, but will also contribute to the overall network resilience of both Hong Kong and the Asian-Pacific Region against earthquakes and other natural disasters,” said Miss Eliza Lee, Director-General of Communications, Office of the Communications Authority.

The route of ASE is designed to bypass areas that are prone to seismic activities, and the cable is constructed using a double-armoured cable, with two layers of high tensile steel strands for extra protection. Of the 7,800km cable, about 30 km stretches into the Hong Kong waters. Passing through Tathong Channel from the South China Sea, the cable connects to the landing station at the NTT Communications Hong Kong Financial Data Centre (FDC™) in Tseung Kwan O.

The new cable system will play a prominent role in NTT Communications’ plan to launch its FDC™ in Hong Kong in 2013, which will deliver the utmost level of reliability, redundancy and resilience with its Tier IV ready fault-tolerant infrastructure. Co-locating the ASE cable landing station and NTT Communications’ global network node at FDC™ creates a network environment that is unique in the data centre market and provides clients with direct access to an ultra low latency network connected to key financial hubs in Asia. This not only further minimizes latency, but also eliminates backhaul and reduces risks of failure and network costs. “We are confident that ASE and the new FDC™ will strengthen Hong Kong’s strategic position as a global financial hub.” said Mr. Brandon Lee.

“The government fully recognizes the importance of submarine cable systems to the Hong Kong economy. With our light-handed market approach and transparent regulatory regime, we strive to foster a stable and pro-business environment that is conducive to long-term investments in the telecommunications industry. I am grateful for the vote of confidence of NTT Communications, for their choosing Hong Kong to land the ASE.” said Miss Eliza Lee

NTT Communications is the major investor in the cable system. It has been constructed in cooperation with Malaysia-based Telekom Malaysia, Philippines-based PLDT and Singapore-based StarHub. The Hong Kong section forms a significant part of the regional ASE network

Guests officiating at the Cable Landing Ceremony held on 30 November were (from right):

  • Mr. Brandon Lee, Chief Strategy Officer, NTT Com Asia Limited
  • Miss Eliza Lee, Director-General of Communications, Office of the Communications Authority, the HKSAR Government
  • Mr. E Anthony Tan, CEO, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
  • Mr. Charles Mok, Legislative Council member (ITFC)
  • Mr. Kenji Takase, Director, Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, NTT Communications Corporation

Joined by representative from one of the cable system constructors NEC Corporation.

Mr. Patrick Ng, Executive Vice President, Global Network Business Division (right) and Mr. Junta Nakanishi, Director, Network Engineering Business, Global Network Business Division, NTT Com Asia (left) announced the Asia Submarine-cable Express is now connected to Hong Kong.

Please visit The Making of ASE and The Making of FDC™ for more photographs and videos.

* * *

For enquiries, please contact us.

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date