Jakarta. Digital infrastructure company Sinergi Inti Andalan Prima (INET) is leading a consortium to build a 6,870-kilometer undersea cable system connecting 14 landing points across Indonesia as the country prepares for rising demand for digital capacity.

The Synergy Gateways of Indonesia Cable System (SGI Cable System) is being developed by a consortium comprising INET, FiberHome Technologies Indonesia, Solusi Sinergi Digital (Surge), Nokia, Sarana Global Indonesia (SGI), and NTT Group through Weave.

The consortium signed a memorandum of understanding in Singapore on Wednesday, with the system targeted to be ready for service by the end of 2028. 

The project marks an expansion of INET’s role in digital connectivity infrastructure after the company became the majority shareholder of SGI.

“Majority ownership of SGI is a strategic step for INET. With the support of our consortium partners, we are building undersea cable infrastructure to meet the growing capacity needs of the INET Group while strengthening the digital infrastructure ecosystem we are developing,” INET President Director Muhammad Arif said in a statement.

The cable system will connect Jakarta, Pontianak, Pangkalan Bun, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, Banyu Urip, Singaraja, Mataram, Makassar, Palu, Manado, Bitung, Ambon, and Sorong, linking western, central and eastern Indonesia through a single network.

The system will have 16 fiber-pair capacity and a maximum capacity of 25 terabits per second, with a design life of up to 25 years.

The consortium expects the network to help accommodate growing data traffic driven by data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other digital services. Undersea cables form a key part of Indonesia’s telecommunications infrastructure because of the country’s geography, with thousands of islands spread across a vast area.

SGI, which is 60% owned by INET, will develop and deploy the cable system, while INET will act as its majority shareholder and use capacity from the network.

FiberHome will serve as the technology partner and undersea cable system supplier. It expects all materials required for the project to arrive in Indonesia by around September 2027.

Nokia will provide high-capacity optical networking technology designed to support rising data traffic from AI, cloud computing, and data centers.

For Surge, the project is intended to secure backbone capacity as it expands its broadband services.

“Our participation in this consortium ensures the availability of backbone network capacity to reach more households across Indonesia,” Surge President Director Hendrik Tee said.

NTT Group is participating through Weave, a joint venture between Surge and NTT East. Weave will contribute backbone network and capacity distribution capabilities, complementing its existing terrestrial fiber-optic network.

NTT e-Asia President and CEO Yasuyuki Nagae said the undersea system would complement Weave’s land-based fiber network and extend connectivity from western to eastern Indonesia.

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