Keppel has signed a definitive agreement with Telstra International to lease its Bifrost subsea cable system for 25 years, formalising a term sheet entered in January.
Bifrost, spanning over 20,000 km, is the world’s first subsea cable system directly linking Singapore to the west coast of USA via Indonesia through the Java Sea and Celebes Sea.
The cable lands in locations such as Singapore, Guam, and California, with branching units extending connectivity to Jakarta and Manado in Indonesia, Davao in the Philippines, and Winema, Oregon in the USA.
Keppel’s investment in the Bifrost fibre pairs is held through a 40-60 joint venture with its private fund co-investors.
Keppel will also continue to operate and maintain the joint venture’s five fibre pairs for 25 years to ensure high system availability and performance, which will generate a stable stream of long-term recurring income.
With three of the fibre pairs committed to customers, Keppel is currently in advanced discussions with potential customers on the remaining two fibre pairs and contracts are targeted to be signed in 1H 2026.
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Manjot Singh Mann, CEO, Connectivity of Keppel, says this deal with Telstra International reflects the growing traction of Bifrost amidst growing demand for high-quality digital connectivity infrastructure globally.
"Together with our private funds, including the Keppel Infrastructure Fund, we are advancing a strategic pipeline of subsea cable developments across different markets to support the growing digital economy while delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for Keppel and our co-investors," he adds.
"Demand for high-performance, resilient connectivity has never been stronger, driven by the rapid growth of digital services, accelerating AI-led compute and data demand, and rising expectations for speed and simplicity," says Roary Stasko, CEO Telstra International.
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According to Stasko, the Singapore–US route is one of the world’s most important digital corridors, connecting fast-growing Asian markets to global cloud and content hubs.
"By securing a dedicated fibre pair on Bifrost, we’re giving customers more capacity and a truly diverse path, backed by an end-to-end service with Telstra International operating and monitoring the network," he adds.
Keppel shares closed at $10.60 on May 15, down 0.93%.
