Singapore-US Subsea Cable Gets Landing Licence from USFCC

Singapore-headquartered asset manager Keppel Ltd on Friday said that the $760 million Bifrost Cable System (Bifrost), which the Company is jointly developing with Edge Cable Holdings USA, LLC (Meta) and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), has been granted a subsea cable landing license by the US Federal Communications Commission (USFCC).

Spanning over 20,000 km, Bifrost is the world’s first subsea cable system that directly connects Singapore to the west coast of North America via Indonesia through the Java Sea and Celebes Sea.

A subsea cable landing license must be obtained prior to landing a submarine cable to connect continental US with any foreign country. The achievement of the USFCC cable landing license marks the final approval in an extensive transnational regulatory approval process, paving the way for Bifrost’s successful deployment.

Bifrost, which commenced system commissioning and acceptance testing on 21 January 2025, is expected to be ready for commercial service in the second half of 2025.

As the first subsea cable system linking Southeast Asia to the US to be approved in the past eight years, Bifrost will significantly enhance Singapore’s strategic position as Asia’s leading digital hub as well as support the region’s fast-growing digital economy. Bifrost’s cable landing station in Singapore will be sited at Keppel DC REIT’s SGP 5 data centre in Jurong.

Keppel CEO Loh Chin Hua said that achieving the USFCC’s approval for the Bifrost Cable System is a significant milestone for the project and completion of the project in the second half of 2025 strengthens Keppel’s connectivity strategy.

“This landmark project, a testament to our strong partnership with Meta and Telin, will entrench Keppel as a strategic ecosystem partner to global cloud players and technology leaders, as we pursue our growth plans in digital infrastructure. This includes developing and operating other subsea cables linking Southeast Asia with the rest of Asia and beyond,” Hua added.

Forefront of Digital Economy

Bifrost is part of Keppel’s end-to-end connectivity ecosystem, spanning power, off-grid solutions, green energy, cooling, subsea cable connectivity and data centre solutions. Critical digital infrastructure such as Bifrost will not only boost the performance and reliability of Keppel’s data centre offerings but also position the Company at the forefront of the digital economy.

Keppel embarked on the Bifrost Cable System in March 2021 with joint build partners Meta and Telin, in which Keppel was assigned five out of a total of 12 fibre pairs with its share of cost being $350 million.

The five fibre pairs are jointly owned by Keppel and its private fund co-investors through a 40-60 joint venture. Of these, two fibre pairs have since been committed to customers through Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRU) for 25 years, while IRUs for the remaining three fibre pairs are currently being negotiated with potential customers.

In addition, when Bifrost is completed, Keppel will continue to operate and maintain its five fibre pairs over a period of 25 years, for which the Company stands to derive a stream of long-term recurring income.

Beyond Bifrost, Keppel, together with its private funds including Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund II, are exploring opportunities to develop more cable systems connecting various geographies.

These initiatives are part of Keppel’s broader strategy to enhance global connectivity and provide digital infrastructure solutions, leveraging its integrated ecosystem to meet the evolving needs of countries, businesses and consumers, and deliver the best risk-adjusted returns to investors.