China Unicom connects Hong Kong-Cambodia cable, widening undersea data network
The submarine cable project ties city with a high-speed data and information corridor running through Southeast Asia
A new state-of-the-art submarine cable, which will enable faster internet for Cambodia, made a successful landing in Hong Kong earlier this week, another milestone in a series of projects undertaken by Chinese firms to bolster information infrastructure by laying and expanding international seabed networks.
The project, named SHV-HK, links Sihanoukville, a coastal port city in Cambodia, to Hong Kong, traversing 3,000km (1,864 miles) through the Gulf of Thailand, the southern tip of Vietnam and the vast South China Sea before reaching the Tseung Kwan O landing station in Hong Kong. Its investor is state-owned telecommunications giant China Unicom.
“The linkage forms part of China-Cambodia cooperation in digital infrastructure under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative,” the telecoms firm said in a statement. It said it would aim to significantly strengthen overseas internet connection for Cambodia’s 17.3 million people and address gaps in the country’s digital development.