On January 20, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced its support for a proposed submarine cable project designed to connect India with Singapore and key data hubs across Southeast Asia. The SCNX3 submarine cable aims to strengthen regional digital infrastructure and meet rising demands for reliable, secure connectivity.
The planned cable route will link Chennai with Singapore, with potential additional landing points under consideration in India, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. As part of the initiative, USTDA signed an agreement with SubConnex Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. to fund a feasibility study for the project. The cable system is expected to serve a population of nearly 1.85 billion people across the region.
According to USTDA, the feasibility study will help attract investment, expand network capacity, and support the growing adoption of Artificial Intelligence and cloud-based services. The project also aims to maintain the reliability and security of international data networks while minimizing exposure to cyber threats and foreign interference.
The agreement was formalized during the Pacific Telecommunications Council 26 conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. SubConnex has chosen Florida-based APTelecom LLC to conduct the feasibility study, which will cover route planning, engineering design, financial modeling, commercialization strategy, and regulatory considerations.
The SCNX3 initiative comes at a time when rising digital demand and limited route diversity have left existing networks vulnerable to outages and security risks in India and Southeast Asia. By creating additional, resilient undersea pathways, the project is expected to improve digital access, ensure uninterrupted services, and bolster the growth of AI and cloud computing technologies in the region.
USTDA emphasized that the study will promote the use of secure submarine cable technology and safeguard international data flows from malicious interference. Given that undersea cables carry the vast majority of global Internet and data traffic, the SCNX3 cable will play a critical role in providing secure and reliable communications infrastructure for governments, businesses, and citizens across South and Southeast Asia.
This project highlights the increasing strategic importance of undersea cables as nations seek to protect digital networks while supporting technological growth in an interconnected world.
