New submarine cable to connect countries across Southeast and East Asia

"Candle" system set to be APAC's largest capacity cable.

A new submarine cable system called Candle will be built to connect Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Slated to become operational in 2028, the 8,000 km subsea cable will feature a 24 fibre-pair configuration instead of the usual 16 to 20 pairs, meaning higher capacity and lower latency.

"Candle represents a pivotal advancement in fortifying the region's digital infrastructure," commented Meta's Don Pang, who chairs the Candle management committee.

"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."

According to Meta, Candle will be the largest capacity cable in Asia Pacific, connecting more than 580 million people with 570 terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity.

Source: SoftBank

"This milestone reflects the deep collaboration amongst 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," Pang added.

Meta's partners for the Candle project include SoftBank Corp., IPS Inc., TM Technology Services Sdn. Bhd., PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk, and NEC Corporation.

When Candle was introduced, Meta also provided updates on its other subsea cable investments in the region.

"Bifrost now connects Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the US, with Mexico expected in 2026," it reported. "Echo now delivers 260 Tbps of capacity between Guam and California, with options for onward connectivity into Asia in the future.

"We also announced Apricot, which is now available between Japan, Taiwan, and Guam. With future extensions to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore, this 12,000 km system will complement the Bifrost and Echo systems with 290 Tbps of capacity."

Citing September 2025 data from Statista, Meta said around 3.3 billion of the world's 5.65 billion internet users come from APAC.