VNPT lays foundation for direct cable link to US

The group is lodging motions received from relevant ministries, while gathering information for its pre-feasibility study of project requirements. A link to the system would be the country’s first direct international cable link with the US, backing up data streams via two existing regional submarine cable systems (TVH and SMW3), which are predicted to be operating at full capacity within the next few years. The system will add some 40Gbps to Vietnam’s international internet connection.
VNPT plans to contribute $40 million to the consortium, as well as 400 kilometres of cable to link the international system with the landing point in Vung Tau.
A source from VNPT affiliate Vietnam Telecommunications International, which is undertaking the study, said if the government approves, the company will begin its feasibility study to be ready for engagement in the project this December. These groups will need to sign to the construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) with other regional partners before signing a supply contract to commence physical development.
“Traffic out of Vietnam mostly goes to the US, and this project will help the country save money with direct instant link,” said the VTI source.
“We are studying details of the project, tendering contract dossiers and setting commercial terms for these contracts,” said the source.
The source said Vietnam has enough capacity to satisfy demand for internet connectivity until the cable link is available in 2008, as the SMW3 is being upgraded with a 7.5 Gbps router in Hong Kong which will be
online next year.
“We are not yet using the full capacity of our link to SMW3, and with this added capacity, the link will have more room to satisfy domestic demand,” he said.
The Asia-America Gateway cable system is planned to run between Malaysia and the US, via Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii, with branches to Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam. It will span 20,000 kilometres and will use Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing technology with minimum capacity of 1.28 terabits per second.
Signatories to the gateway include AiTi (Brunei Darussalam), CAT Telecom (Thailand), PLDT (the Philippines), REACH (Hong Kong), StarHub (Singapore), Telekom Malaysia, and VNPT. Each signed a memorandum of understanding to plan and develop a proposal for development of the system last June.
Meanwhile, the long-stalled Hong Kong-Vietnam link has lagged behind schedule again as the government has yet to approve the investment proposed by VNPT and Tricom after more than a decade in negotiation.
Phan Chi Dung, deputy head of Vinasat Division of the VNPT Group, said the group is studying pre-feasibility to submit to the government in September, and expects approval to sign a C&MA with Tricom in October.
The cable was previously planned for service by the end of 2007, with initial capacity of 20 Gbps. The budget for the segment linking Vietnam to Hong Kong is $60m, based on a contribution ratio of 51 per cent from VNPT, and the remainder from Tricom Asia.
According to the Tricom, VNPT and US market researcher TeleGeography, Vietnam’s demand for international connectivity capacity will be 15 Gbps by the end of the year, increasing from the current 13.6 Gbps.




No. 772/July 31-August 6, 2006