SendTech Times
العربية
Telco & ConnectivityNews|July 5, 2026, 08:25 AM
AI SHIFT:

Lightstorm Names 3,600km I-2SEA Cable On India-Singapore AI Route

BySendTech Times Connectivity DeskNewsroom-edited, source-reviewed coverage|Source: Light Reading
Newsroom brief

Light Reading reported that Lightstorm is leading Microsoft, Singtel and Tata Communications in the 3,600km I-2SEA subsea cable, with fourth-quarter 2029 service planned for India, Malaysia and Singapore. Financing, pricing and signed customer commitments remain undisclosed.

Verified against source materialEdited by SendTech Times Connectivity Desk
Lightstorm Names 3,600km I-2SEA Cable On India-Singapore AI Route

Lightstorm said it is leading a consortium to build the 3,600km I-2SEA submarine cable between India, Malaysia and Singapore, with the system scheduled for service in 2029 as network capacity for AI infrastructure.

The I-2SEA cable will connect Singapore and Kuala Lumpur directly to Hyderabad and Chennai, with Lightstorm-operated landing stations in Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and South Chennai.

Microsoft, Singtel and Tata Communications are listed as the other consortium partners.

I-2SEA Cable Targets Fourth-Quarter 2029 Service

Lightstorm said the India-Southeast Asia cable is scheduled to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2029.

The company said the system is designed for hyperscalers, GPU infrastructure providers and enterprises running AI training and inference.

NEC Corporation has been appointed as system supplier, while ASEAN Cableship Pte Ltd has been named as the marine installation partner.

Lightstorm said the system is already open for capacity commitments, but the consortium did not disclose financial terms for the cable project.

Lightstorm is presenting the cable as more than a general telecom upgrade.

Lightstorm CEO and Managing Director Amajit Gupta said the company wants to extend its SmartNet AI Fabric from data centres and GPU clusters in India into the subsea domain.

Lightstorm Lists 29 AI And Cloud Zones

Lightstorm said the new subsea link is expected to increase its connectivity from 19 AI and cloud zones to 29 zones across India.

The company also said its 30,000km terrestrial network can carry traffic onward from the cable to Hyderabad, Mumbai and more than 80 data centres nationwide.

The Machilipatnam landing point gives the project a specific AI-infrastructure location.

Meta and Alphabet have announced data-centre projects in that part of Andhra Pradesh, and Machilipatnam is described as the shortest direct subsea access point to Hyderabad.

Lightstorm said I-2SEA will support the Singapore-Malaysia-Hyderabad corridor when combined with the company's low-latency backhaul network in India.

The company described the route as strategically critical for AI workloads in the region, but did not publish customer commitments for the system.

Tata Communications Names $152 Million Subsea Investment

Tata Communications confirmed its participation in the I-2SEA consortium earlier in the week.

The company did not name the cable in that announcement, but said the system would connect Chennai and Singapore and target ready-for-service status in the fourth quarter of 2029.

Tata Communications also said it had acquired significant fibre capacity on a Mumbai-Singapore subsea system.

The company described a $152 million strategic investment in subsea infrastructure and said the programme would add 98 Tbit/s of AI-ready capacity to the India-Singapore digital corridor.

Genius Wong, Tata Communications' executive vice president of Core and Next-Gen Connectivity Services and chief technology officer, said the investments are intended to improve reliability, scalability and performance across one of the world's busiest digital corridors.

The consortium has not disclosed I-2SEA project financing, capacity prices, signed customer commitments, construction milestones, permitting status or the first buyers for the new subsea cable.

Share this article
inXf

Related articles

More
Qatar Funds Turksat Satellite As 50Gbps Capacity Stays At Turkish Orbital Slot
Telco & Connectivity

Qatar Funds Turksat Satellite As 50Gbps Capacity Stays At Turkish Orbital Slot

Turksat and Qatar's Es'hailSat signed a satellite partnership funded by Qatar, with Turkey keeping the 50 degrees east orbital and frequency rights while the project leaves cost, launch timing and customers undisclosed.

AI Inference Traffic Pushes Telecom Networks Toward a New Planning Problem
Telco & Connectivity

AI Inference Traffic Pushes Telecom Networks Toward a New Planning Problem

Light Reading says AI inference could create longer and more upstream-heavy telecom traffic than video-era networks were built to handle. Analysts cited in the report point to hyperscalers influence over optical transport, data-center interconnect and subsea capacity planning. Operators face a visibility gap because no comprehensive public study maps AI traffic patterns, even as the sector spends more than $600 billion in capex.

Telecom Operators Test Whether AI Networks Can Move From Opex Cuts To Revenue
Telco & Connectivity

Telecom Operators Test Whether AI Networks Can Move From Opex Cuts To Revenue

Communications service providers are using generative and agentic AI to automate network operations, but the next test is whether distributed connectivity, edge sites and secure infrastructure can become paid AI services.

Spacesail Uses Starlink Friction To Push China’s Satellite Internet Abroad
Telco & Connectivity

Spacesail Uses Starlink Friction To Push China’s Satellite Internet Abroad

China-backed Spacesail is targeting markets where Starlink has faced pricing, regulatory or capacity friction, using state telecom partnerships and a 200-satellite base to prepare broader service by the end of 2026.

Amazon Leo FCC Extension Keeps Starlink Satellite Rivalry Alive
Telco & Connectivity

Amazon Leo FCC Extension Keeps Starlink Satellite Rivalry Alive

The FCC gave Amazon Leo a 24-month extension for its interim LEO satellite deployment milestone, preserving a path toward a mid-2026 service launch while keeping the July 30, 2029 full-buildout deadline in place.

Ciena's $50 Billion AI Network Target Puts Optical Capacity on the Hyperscaler Clock
Telco & Connectivity

Ciena's $50 Billion AI Network Target Puts Optical Capacity on the Hyperscaler Clock

Ciena says AI demand could roughly double its addressable market to about $50 billion by 2029 as hyperscalers and service providers invest in optical networking. It cited RLS Hyper Rail, DCOM, coherent modules and 400G/800G pluggable optics as demand areas while planning $250 million to $275 million in capex this year. The practical question is whether AI compute buildouts convert into durable network orders.

Keep Reading

More Stories

Latest
DDSC Gets Vara Platform Access For UAE Dirham StablecoinFintech & Digital PaymentsJul 5, 2026DDSC Gets Vara Platform Access For UAE Dirham StablecoinIHC said DDSC, the UAE dirham-backed stablecoin developed with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding, can move onto selected Vara-regulated platforms after a UAE Central Bank no-objection certificate. The statement did not name the exchanges or a retail launch date.Godot Plans AI Code Contribution Ban As Pull Request Reviews StrainAIJul 5, 2026Godot Plans AI Code Contribution Ban As Pull Request Reviews StrainGodot maintainers are drafting stricter rules for AI-generated code after saying pull request review is being strained by contributors who may not understand their own submissions. The final policy text, release date and verification process remain undisclosed.Midjourney Seeks Studio AI Records Beyond Consumer-Facing ImagesCapital & PolicyJul 5, 2026Midjourney Seeks Studio AI Records Beyond Consumer-Facing ImagesMidjourney is asking a court to make Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. disclose more about their internal generative AI use in a copyright dispute. The court has not ruled on the latest request, and the filing does not identify specific internal studio models, datasets, contracts or licensing terms.Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs Raises $1bn For AI Beyond Language ModelsAIJul 5, 2026Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs Raises $1bn For AI Beyond Language ModelsYann LeCun told BBC that large language models are not a path to human-like or animal-like intelligence because they cannot deal with real-world data. His Paris-based AMI Labs has raised more than $1bn and is developing JEPA, but it has not named first industrial customers or deployment contracts.BackLite KSA Names 80-Screen Saudi Retail Media NetworkCapital & PolicyJul 5, 2026BackLite KSA Names 80-Screen Saudi Retail Media NetworkMultiply Media Group says BackLite KSA will run more than 80 digital screens across four Riyadh and Jeddah destinations with Cenomi Centers. The companies did not disclose contract value, advertiser commitments or screen installation dates.World Cup Trading Gives Prediction Markets A $31 Billion Stress TestFintech & Digital PaymentsJul 4, 2026World Cup Trading Gives Prediction Markets A $31 Billion Stress TestDune Analytics data cited for Kalshi showed more than $31 billion in June notional volume, while Bank of America put Rothera at $2 billion. The surge gives regulators and institutions a live test of event-contract market capacity.Union County Clues Point To $1 Million Kairos Data-Extortion PaymentCybersecurityJul 4, 2026Union County Clues Point To $1 Million Kairos Data-Extortion PaymentA Ransom-ISAC case study says Kairos took about $1 million after stealing files without encrypting systems. Clues point to Union County, Ohio, but the public record does not confirm the link or prove the data was deleted.Meta Compute Prepares AI Cloud Push Against AWS And GoogleCloud & Data CentersJul 4, 2026Meta Compute Prepares AI Cloud Push Against AWS And GoogleMeta is considering external sales of AI compute and model access through Meta Compute. Zuckerberg said the idea is on the table, but customer names, pricing, GPU inventory and a Muse Spark release date remain undisclosed.Anthropic Plans Drug Discovery Push Without Trial Or Partner DetailsAIJul 4, 2026Anthropic Plans Drug Discovery Push Without Trial Or Partner DetailsAnthropic says Claude Science will support drug discovery and that its life sciences team will focus on neglected diseases. The company did not identify target diseases, lab partners, clinical-trial plans, manufacturing partners, patient timelines or regulatory milestones.Infineon Opens €5 Billion Dresden Fab Three Months Early Without Customer NamesChips & SemiconductorsJul 4, 2026Infineon Opens €5 Billion Dresden Fab Three Months Early Without Customer NamesInfineon Technologies opened its €5 billion Module 4 smart power fab in Dresden three months ahead of schedule. The 300-mm plant adds European capacity for power semiconductors and analogue/mixed-signal devices, but Infineon did not name customers, order volumes or utilisation targets.Gillibrand Seeks Memecoin Ban After Trump Crypto DisclosureCapital & PolicyJul 4, 2026Gillibrand Seeks Memecoin Ban After Trump Crypto DisclosureSenator Kirsten Gillibrand is renewing her push for elected officials and their spouses to be barred from issuing or promoting crypto assets, including memecoins. Decrypt reported that President Donald Trump's annual financial disclosure listed more than $1.2 billion from crypto ventures last year, including more than $635 million from a Solana-based memecoin.UAE PMI Falls To 50.8 As June Hiring Contracts After Hormuz DisruptionEconomyJul 4, 2026UAE PMI Falls To 50.8 As June Hiring Contracts After Hormuz DisruptionS&P Global Market Intelligence said the UAE non-oil PMI fell to 50.8 in June from 52.6 in May, with employment contracting for the first time in more than four years. The survey cited client caution, sparse tourism activity and supply-chain disruption, but did not give company-level job cuts or revenue losses.