22 Sep 2025
TM JOINS CANDLE SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM CONSORTIUM TO CONNECT MALAYSIA AND ASEAN COUNTRIES TO JAPAN
KUALA LUMPUR, September 22, 2025 – TM, Meta, SoftBank Corp.,
Candle is a 24-fiber pair, 8,000 km submarine cable system connecting Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, that is scheduled to begin operations in 2028. It will contribute to infrastructure expansion and secure redundant routes to meet the increasing demand for data communications driven by 5G and AI.
This cable system will be one of the first in the Asia-Pacific region to use a 24-fiber pair cable, enabling superior traffic capacity to support the growing demand for communications in the region.
Chairperson of the Candle Management Committee, Don Pang, said: “Candle represents a pivotal advancement in fortifying the region’s digital infrastructure. As the need for robust, high-speed connectivity grows, Candle will deliver greater network diversity and resilience along this essential corridor, leveraging state-of-the-art technology. This milestone reflects the deep collaboration among our partners and underscores our shared commitment to advancing digital inclusion and economic opportunity for over half a billion people in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The partners from participating countries also provided their comments on the importance of this new system.
Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer said, “TM’s participation in the Candle submarine cable system project demonstrates our commitment to building resilient digital infrastructure that meets the growing demand for digital services and cloud-based, AI-driven innovation across Asia. It strengthens our ability to support hyperscalers, enterprises and global service providers in expanding their footprint across ASEAN, while reinforcing Malaysia’s role as ASEAN’s digital hub. This initiative bodes well with our aspiration to become a Digital Powerhouse by 2030—connecting Malaysia to the world, and the world to Malaysia.”
“At Meta, we imagine a future where everyone has access to AI, personal superintelligence, and other emerging technologies to improve their lives and connect with each other. This is part of our commitment to seamlessly bring people together no matter where they are in the world.,” said Nico Roerich, Director, APAC Network Investments, Meta.
“With the rapid advancement of generative AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), the demand for international telecommunications is expected to continue accelerating. CANDLE adopts a 24-fiber-pair architecture, making it one of the core foundations of next-generation social infrastructure that SoftBank is promoting. By integrating with other submarine cables such as JUPITER, ADC, and E2A, we will further enhance the diversity and redundancy of global communications networks originating from Japan, and strengthen Japan’s role as a digital gateway for Asia,” said Kimimasa Kudo, Vice President and Head of Global Business Division, Enterprise Unit, SoftBank Corp.
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Tomonori Uematsu, General Manager, Submarine Network Division, NEC Corporation, added, “NEC is a leading vendor in the submarine cable system business with over 60 years of experience. NEC is particularly strong in leading subsea projects in the Asia-Pacific region, having been responsible for eight optical submarine cable systems connecting Japan and Singapore, including ‘Candle.’ In this project, NEC will participate as a system integrator, providing everything from the manufacture of submarine cables and repeaters to route design, installation, and testing. Through the establishment of a highly reliable communication environment in the Asia region, NEC will contribute to the development of the digital economy.”
This initiative is a milestone in collective partnerships and commitment to strengthening regional connectivity, ensuring secure and reliable international data transmission, and advancing the digital growth of communities and businesses across ASEAN.
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TM One and MPSJ embarks on 5G demonstration project in Subang Jaya
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Also present at the event were YB Michelle Ng, ADUN for Subang Jaya as well as representatives from the State Executive Council. Commenting on the collaboration, Tuan Haji Rosli said; "We are proud and excited to join forces with MPSJ in supporting MCMC's 5G Demonstration Project to deploy 5G infrastructure and services to Malaysians. The use cases that we are rolling out in all of our 5GDP locations are particularly selected to address the specific challenges faced by the community and stakeholders at the respective locations. For Subang Jaya, we have, together with MPSJ, identified prior to the project that parking, congestion and safety issues are among the community's top concerns. Today, TM and MPSJ are together in demonstrating how smart cities can be powered by 5G and Subang Jaya is indeed a perfect location to demonstrate these capabilities. We hope that throughout the 5GDP period, we will be able to show how 5G-enabled solutions can solve the challenges and create an Ultimate Smart City Experience for Subang Jaya, making it a smart city pioneer in Malaysia. This is in support of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) efforts in progressing humanity towards improving the quality of lives of the Rakyat." "We hope as 5G becomes a reality, the communities will experience better streaming and connectivity and this will certainly bring a multitude of benefits to Subang Jaya city. Streets, buildings, public and personal devices need to be interconnected in order to manage the resources and operations in Subang Jaya. This can only be cost-effective and efficient if they are automated and connected and this is in line with MPSJ efforts to make Subang Jaya a safe, green, smart, prosperous, healthy and women-friendly municipality. 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Powered by AI capabilities, and integrated with TM's emergency response team, immediate action can be deployed in case of emergencies, as well as predictive analysis on actual incident situation for proactive response. Apart from the three use cases deployed in partnership with MPSJ, TM deploys three (3) other use cases through its research and development arm, TM R&D Sdn Bhd (TM R&D). Two (2) use cases - Smart Retail Analytics and Smart Water System are deployed at private commercial premises in SS15, Subang Jaya while Smart Vehicle will be implemented at TM Fleet in the area. Earlier last week, the Company announced that it has begun transmission of 5G service in Pulau Langkawi, where it is deploying the first 5G Stand Alone (SA) network, and will be demonstrating more 5G use cases there.
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TM UNVEILS NEW CABLE LANDING STATION TO BOOST REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY
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