A multinational consortium will build the

first high-bandwidth optical fiber submarine cable system linking Southeast Asia

and the US at a cost of $500 million, local media reported. Singapore telecom

operator StarHub, which is part of the 17-member group, said the system, called

the Asia-America Gateway, is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of

2008. The new cable system will provide a capacity of up to 1.92 terabits per

second of data bandwidth to provide faster and more reliable internet, video,

data and other multimedia services. Spanning 20,000 km, the cable system will

connect South East Asia with Hawaii and the US West Coast and is expected to

include Cambodia.