The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has commissioned Malaysian subsea cable developer SubConnex to study the feasibility of a new submarine cable system linking India with Singapore and major data centres across Southeast Asia.
The proposed SCNX3 cable would connect Chennai to Singapore, with planned landing points in India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and is expected to serve up to 1.85 billion people by boosting regional capacity for data-heavy services such as AI. SubConnex said the project aims to address urgent connectivity constraints across South and Southeast Asia.
SubConnex has appointed US-based APTelecom to carry out the feasibility study, with the goal of strengthening the investment case for the SCNX3 system.
USTDA deputy director Thomas Hardy said deploying secure, US-made subsea cable technology is critical to protecting sensitive data and infrastructure, while supporting the strategic digital ambitions of partner countries in the region. SubConnex CEO Simon Zettl (pictured, middle) added the project would help reinforce the digital backbone of South and Southeast Asia and support long-term economic growth.
