~ Bay to Bay Express to connect two of the biggest bay areas in the world ~

Tokyo, 9 July, 2018 – The Bay to Bay Express Cable System (BtoBE) consortium, composed of China Mobile International, Facebook and Amazon Web Services, signed an agreement with NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE:6701) to build a high performance submarine cable connecting Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.

BtoBE Cable System route

Construction of the nearly 16,000-kilometer optical submarine cable is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020.

BtoBE, featuring multiple pairs of optical fibre, enables high capacity transmission of data across the Pacific Ocean with round trip latency of less than 130 milliseconds. BtoBE will further enhance and contribute to the much-needed expansion of communications networks between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Singapore. This cable will be built with the most advanced optical submarine transmission equipment, thereby improving network redundancy, flexibility and ensuring highly reliable communications.

"NEC is honored to be selected by the BtoBE consortium as the turn-key system supplier for this world record-breaking optical fiber submarine cable system that covers the longest distance without regeneration. The BtoBE, landing at three locations spanning across the Pacific Ocean, is designed so that once completed, it can carry at least 18Tbs of capacity per fiber pair," said Mr. Toru Kawauchi, General Manager of the Submarine Network Division at NEC Corporation. "The BtoBE will provide seamless connectivity and network diversity, while serving to complement other Asia-Pacific submarine cables, among others."

About the BtoBE consortium

The BtoBE is a global consortium composed of telecommunications and technology companies, including China Mobile International; Facebook; and Amazon Web Services.