Keppel Ltd. (Keppel) announced that the Bifrost Cable System (Bifrost) has officially reached Ready for Service (RFS) status, marking the start of its commercial operations in the coming weeks.
Spanning more than 20,000 kilometers, Bifrost is the world’s first subsea cable system directly connecting Singapore to the west coast of the United States via Indonesia, traversing the Java Sea and Celebes Sea. Purpose-built to support AI workloads, cloud-native platforms, and real-time digital services, the system delivers a round-trip latency of just under 165 milliseconds between Singapore and the US—around 10 milliseconds faster than existing systems. By charting a new route across the Pacific, Bifrost adds over 260 terabits per second of capacity, enhancing both bandwidth and network resiliency along one of the world’s busiest digital corridors.
Manjot Singh Mann, CEO of Connectivity at Keppel, said, “Keppel is proud to announce that the Bifrost Cable System has achieved Ready for Service status. This landmark project strengthens digital connectivity between Southeast Asia and the United States, reinforcing Singapore’s position as a leading digital hub while powering the region’s rapidly growing digital economy. We aim to continue expanding our subsea cable footprint across Asia and beyond, partnering with global cloud players and technology leaders as part of an integrated ecosystem.”
Keppel holds five of Bifrost’s twelve fiber pairs through a 40-60 joint venture with private fund co-investors. The system lands in Singapore, Guam, and Grover Beach, California, with branching units extending to Jakarta and Manado in Indonesia, Davao in the Philippines, and Winema, Oregon—enabling dynamic traffic routing and robust regional interconnection.
In Davao, Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. serves as the landing party. Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said, “The Philippines’ strategic location at the heart of the region makes this project vital. The Bifrost Cable System will support Asia-Pacific’s surging connectivity needs and provide a critical direct link to the US. For the Philippines, this means not just expanded international bandwidth but greater redundancy and diversity in our digital infrastructure to power the nation’s digital future.”
Constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), a global leader in subsea communications, Bifrost reflects years of engineering collaboration. ASN CEO Alain Biston said, “We are honored to have been chosen by Keppel and its partners to deliver this milestone project across the Pacific. Achieving Ready for Service is a testament to the dedication of our teams and our close partnership with Keppel in realizing this ambitious vision.”
As Bifrost prepares to go live, it is expected to become a cornerstone of next-generation digital transformation—fortifying Asia-Pacific’s connectivity, enhancing data resiliency, and redefining the pace and capacity of global information exchange.
