Nokia has been selected by Thailand-based Symphony Communication to upgrade the optical equipment of the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT) subsea cable system. The project will replace the cable’s existing optical infrastructure with Nokia’s Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) powered by sixth-generation Photonic Service Engines (PSE-6) coherent optics. The upgrade will increase network capacity to up to 30 Tbps per fibre pair, approximately three times the capacity of the legacy system, while enhancing low-latency connectivity between Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
The upgraded system is expected to support advanced digital applications, including AI inference, cloud services and mission-critical enterprise operations. According to Nokia, the new technology will also reduce network power consumption by approximately 60 per cent. The MCT subsea cable spans about 1,300 km and connects Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Cherating in Malaysia and Rayong in Thailand. The cable entered service in 2017 with an initial capacity of 1.5 Tbps and is jointly owned by Symphony Communication, Telcotech (a subsidiary of Ezecom) and Telekom Malaysia.
The upgrade supports Thailand’s ambitions to strengthen its position as a regional digital infrastructure and AI hub. Rayong, where the MCT cable lands, is located within Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a major centre for AI-driven data centre investments. Symphony Communication stated that increasing demand from hyperscalers and enterprises for high-capacity and reliable regional connectivity is driving the need for the upgrade. The enhanced cable system is expected to provide the digital infrastructure required to support growing cloud, AI and data centre investments across Southeast Asia.
