Meta announced the Candle submarine system, which is set to improve the digital connectivity in East and Southeast Asia by 2028. The 8,000 km network will connect Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore with a record 570 terabits per second of capacity. Developed with regional telecommunications partners, Candle will leverage advanced 24 fiber-pair technology to provide Meta’s largest bandwidth performance in Asia-Pacific to 580 million people in the region, with unprecedented internet infrastructure capability.
Candle is Asia-Pacific’s Largest Capacity Submarine System
Candle will be the largest capacity cable in APAC, bringing an increase in connectivity for Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in 2028. Spanning 8000 kilometers, Candle will link more than 580 million people with 570 terabits-per-second (Tbps) of capacity. In partnership with leading telecom companies in the region, Candle will use recently developed technology called 24 fiber-pair cable to provide similar bandwidth to Meta’s largest capacity cable currently (Anjana).
The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 58% of the world’s internet users – and many of them depend on excellent global infrastructure to be online and access innovative tech such as AI. At Meta, they envision a future in which everyone has access to AI, personal superintelligence and other emerging technologies that can help people improve their lives and connect with each other.
Advanced fiber technology to ensure unprecedented regional communication
Meta continues to build world-class network infrastructure with sufficient capacity and resilience to enable rich online experiences for people all over the world. Candle will employ recently developed 24-fibre pair cable technology in supplying blockchain connectivity similar to their current highest capacity cable to provide unprecedented connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region.
Several subsea projects reinforce transpacific digital bridges
The company was also able to confirm progress on several other subsea infrastructure projects. The Bifrost cable now links Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the US, with Mexico expected to join this by 2026, adding 260 Tbps of New capacity. Meanwhile, Echo currently includes memory links between Guam and California with the same bandwidth, and Apricot has gone live between Japan, Taiwan, and Guam, yet plans for further expansion to Southeast Asia.
Together, Candle, Echo, Bifrost, and Apricot will enable the Asia-Pacific region with the intra-Asia connectivity, and transpacific bridges to the Americas. Further investments in projects like 2Africa by Meta will pave the way to India, the Middle East, and Europe, while Project Waterworth will pave the way for global connectivity.
Strategic partnerships to drive Regional telecommunications expansion
Meta and collaborators pledged to expand transpacific capacity in 2021 by 70% at two undersea cables – Bifrost and Echo. Bifrost will have a very different path than previous trans-Pacific cables to ensure adding over 260 Tbps of redundancy to this popular digital path, furthering connections between Asia and the Americas. These projects form part of Meta’s network investments globally, such as Project Waterworth and 2Africa, to bring AI and digital infrastructure access to more people and populations globally.
Global infrastructure investments disrupt access to AI
Meta’s development of the digital infrastructure around Asia-Pacific is one element of its commitment to connect people no matter where they are in the world. Together with partners, these investments will improve the scale and reliability of the global telecommunications network and ensure that Meta’s services are distributed to businesses and people across APAC and the rest of the world promptly and efficiently.
Meta’s Candle submarine cable is a transformative investment in the Asia-Pacific digital infrastructure to put the region on a path of improved connectivity and accessibility for AI. Combined with complementary projects such as Bifrost, Echo, and Apricot, they will form a comprehensive network foundation in support of the growing demand for high-speed internet, application of AI, and new technologies in this region that will define the digital future.