XLSmart Begins Work on 8,000-Kilometer Subsea Cable Linking Southeast Asia to Japan
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Indonesian operator XLSmart has started construction on Candle, an 8,000-kilometer subsea fiber network. The route links Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. Commercial operations will begin across all six markets in 2028.
Consortium partners backing the system include Meta, SoftBank, Telekom Malaysia through its TM Technology Services unit, the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, and Japan’s IPS Inc. NEC Corporation will supply the marine transmission equipment. It will deploy 24 fiber pairs along the seabed.
The Route Through Batam
Candle lands in Indonesia at Tanjung Bemban on Batam island. That puts the cable directly opposite Singapore’s main data exchanges. Batam serves as a spillover hub for data centers and cross-border transit links while Singapore limits domestic power allocations.
Crews have finished initial marine work and landing preparations at the site. The route gives carriers a fresh corridor for cloud, enterprise, and artificial intelligence traffic between Southeast Asian cities and East Asia.
PT XLSMART Telecom Sejahtera Tbk is handling local operations and Indonesian regulatory filings. This is one of the operator’s major capital programs following the merger of PT XL Axiata Tbk and PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk.
Wholesale Capacity and Route Diversity
For regional enterprises and cloud platforms, Candle adds physical diversity away from congested legacy routes. Extra subsea lines protect against cable cuts and geopolitical friction across the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.
“Candle represents a strategic investment to prepare for Indonesia’s long-term connectivity needs.”
Wholesale buyers gain dedicated capacity instead of leasing space on older multi-party systems. The link also expands Meta and SoftBank’s owned transmission assets between Southeast Asian hubs and Japanese internet exchanges.
Enterprise demand across Jakarta, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur continues to drive direct subsea investment into domestic carriers. XLSmart Director and Chief Enterprise Business Officer Andrijanto Muljono said: “Candle represents a strategic investment to prepare for Indonesia’s long-term connectivity needs.”
Consortium Lineup and Build Steps
Planning for Candle began in late 2025 with founding members Meta, SoftBank, IPS, Telekom Malaysia, XLSmart, and NEC. Globe Telecom joined the group in April 2026 as an equity investor and the landing partner for the Philippines.
Each landing partner oversees shore-end work, territorial water permits, and domestic terminal stations. Teams have moved from desktop studies to physical landing milestones, while NEC manufactures the cable.
With 24 fiber pairs, Candle ranks among the highest-capacity regional systems in Asian waters. Most older subsea infrastructure in the corridor operates on 8 to 16 fiber pairs.
Regulatory Hurdles and Timelines
Permit applications are advancing across all six landing jurisdictions. Marine surveys, cable-laying contracts, and deep-water work must clear national maritime agencies before installation vessels lay the main trunk lines.
On Batam, the landing station must connect directly with domestic terrestrial backbones across Java and Sumatra to carry traffic inland. Consortium engineers will run dry testing and wet plant commissioning through late 2027 before opening the system to commercial traffic in 2028.
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