Meta, SoftBank, NEC to build submarine cable across Asia-Pacific

Technology Oct 06, 2025

Meta, SoftBank, NEC, and others are building Candle—a huge 8,000km submarine cable linking Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Launching in 2028, it's designed to handle the region's exploding demand for fast internet and better cloud services.

Candle will pack 24 fiber pairs

Candle will pack 24 fiber pairs (more than most cables out there), delivering up to 570Tbps, serving over 580 million people.
SoftBank is running the main landing point in Japan and upgrading other stations to make the network more reliable during disasters.
The goal: stronger digital connections and more opportunities across Asia-Pacific.