Keppel has gone ahead and executed a final 25-year Indefeasible Right of Use – IRU agreement with Telstra International for a fibre pair on the Bifrost Cable System, based on a binding term sheet that was executed by both companies in January 2026.
The deal was signed via the Connectivity Division of Keppel and secures a standard capacity on the subsea cable system connecting Singapore to the west coast of the United States.
It is well to be noted that Bifrost is the first-ever subsea cable system linking Singapore directly to the U.S. through Indonesia, across the Java Sea as well as the Celebes Sea. The system lands in Singapore and Guam as well as Grover Beach, California, with branch facilities providing a standard connection to Jakarta and Manado, Indonesia, and Davao, Philippines, along with Winema, Oregon.
The cable will be over 20,000 km long and will have the ability to accommodate AI workloads and cloud-native platforms. Bifrost offers round-trip latency from Singapore to the U.S. of less than 165 milliseconds, up to 10 milliseconds quicker than current systems, Keppel says.
The system also brings over 240 Tbps of trans-Pacific capacity, addressing growing demand in terms of network robustness and backups across international digital paths.
The CEO of Connectivity, at Keppel, Manjot Singh Mann, said that “Finalising this IRU agreement with Telstra International reflects the growing traction of Bifrost amidst growing demand for high-quality digital connectivity infrastructure globally, as customers seek greater network resilience and alternative routes to support rising data traffic.”
He went on to add that Bifrost has functioned reliably as well as with utmost seamlessness ever since commencing commercial traffic in December 2025.
According to the CEO of Telstra International, Roary Stasko, “The Singapore-U.S. route is one of the world’s most important digital corridors, connecting fast-growing Asian markets to global cloud and content hubs. By securing a dedicated fiber pair on Bifrost, we’re giving customers more capacity and a truly diverse path, backed by an end‑to‑end service with Telstra International operating and monitoring the network.”
Notably, Keppel’s investment in the Bifrost fibre pairs is carried out in a 40-60 joint venture involving its private fund and co-investors. The company will also handle and upkeep five fibre pairs of the venture for the next 25 years.
Keppel said three of the fibre pairs were already committed to customers, with negotiations for the other two continuing, and agreements are expected to be concluded in the first half of 2026.