Search
IDCNOVA

Lightstorm secures $262m debt facility for India-Malaysia-Singapore subsea cable

By: IDCNOVARegion: Southeast Asia
Singapore-based connectivity provider Lightstorm announced today that it has secured Rs 25 billion ($262m) in debt financing for the development of a major subsea cable system linking India with Malaysia and Singapore. The funding, structured as a debt facility led by India-based IndusInd Bank, marks a significant milestone for the I-2SEA cable project, which was first unveiled by the company last month.

The 3,600km (2,236-mile) I-2SEA cable will connect Hyderabad and Chennai on India's east coast to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It will feature dual landing stations in India, one at Machilipatnam and another in South Chennai, enhancing redundancy and connectivity resilience for the region. The cable is specifically designed to serve hyperscalers, GPU infrastructure providers, and enterprises with AI training and inference workloads, reflecting the growing demand for high-capacity international bandwidth in South and Southeast Asia.

The project is being developed under a consortium and joint-build agreement involving Lightstorm, Microsoft, Singtel, and Tata Communications, with NEC serving as the system supplier and ASEAN Cableship acting as the marine installation partner. Lightstorm has previously indicated that the cable is targeted to be ready for service in Q4 2029, a timeline that aligns with the anticipated growth in AI-driven data traffic across the region.

The funding comes at a time when subsea infrastructure is becoming increasingly critical to support the expansion of data centers and cloud services in emerging markets. India, in particular, has seen a surge in data center development, driven by rapid digitalization and the adoption of AI technologies. The I-2SEA cable is expected to play a pivotal role in meeting this demand, providing a direct and secure route for data traffic between key commercial hubs in India, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Industry observers note that the involvement of major global players such as Microsoft and Tata Communications underscores the strategic importance of the project. The consortium structure also helps distribute risk and ensures broad-based support for the cable's long-term operational success. With the debt facility now in place, Lightstorm and its partners are well-positioned to move forward with the construction and deployment phases of the I-2SEA cable.