 | |
| Cable type | Submarine Fibre-optic |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | SEA-ME-WE,SEA-ME-WE 2,SEA-ME-WE 3,SEA-ME-WE 4[1] |
| Successor | SEA-ME-WE 6 |
| Construction beginning | 24 September 2014[2] |
| Construction finished | 15 December 2016[3] |
| Design capacity | 36.6 Tbit/s (12.2 Tbit/s per fiber pair)[4] |
| Area served | South East Asia, Middle East Asia, Western Europe |
| Owner(s) | Consortium |
| Website | www |
South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) is anoptical fibresubmarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications betweenSingapore andFrance.[5]
The cable is approximately 20,000 kilometres long and provides broadband communications with a design capacity of 24 Tbit/s (over 3 fiber pairs) betweenSouth East Asia, theIndian subcontinent, theMiddle East andEurope.[6]
The portion from France to Sri Lanka was constructed byAlcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) and the portion from Sri Lanka to Singapore byNEC.[7] Construction commenced on 6 June 2014 and completed in December 2016.[1][8][5] An official launch event was held inHonolulu,Hawaii on 16 January 2017.[9]
The design capacity was upgraded from 24 Tbit/s to 36.6 Tbit/s in September 2019 usingCiena's GeoMesh Extreme 300G technology.[10]
| Location | Operator & Technical Partner |
|---|---|
| Toulon, France | Orange S.A.[11] |
| Catania, Italy | Telecom Italia Sparkle[12] |
| Marmaris, Turkey | Turk Telekom[13] |
| Abu Talat, Egypt Zafarana, Egypt | Telecom Egypt[14] |
| Yanbu, Saudi Arabia | Saudi Telecom Company[15] |
| Al Hudaydah, Yemen | TeleYemen[16] |
| Haramous CLS, Djibouti | Djibouti Telecom[17] |
| Qalhat, Oman | Ooredoo Oman[18] |
| Fujairah, UAE | du EITC[19] |
| Karachi, Pakistan | Transworld Associates[20] |
| Matara, Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Telecom[21] |
| Ngwe Saung, Myanmar | Myanma Posts and Telecommunications[22] |
| Kuakata, Bangladesh | Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited[22] |
| Medan, Indonesia Dumai, Indonesia | Telkom Indonesia[23] |
| Malacca, Malaysia | Telekom Malaysia Berhad[24] |
| Tuas, Singapore | Singtel[25] |
In November 2022, it was reported that SEA-ME-WE 5 was damaged on land near one of its landing stations in Egypt. This caused significant traffic disruptions lasting several hours to many countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.[26][27]
In April 2024, the SEA-ME-WE 5 cable developed a fault in theStrait of Malacca due to water penetrating the insulation of the cable, causing a short circuit which led to a complete loss of communication. As a result, connectivity was lost betweenKuakata, Bangladesh and the final landing point inTuas, Singapore. The fault led to Bangladesh losing 1.7 Tbps of international capacity, reducing the country’s internet capacity by approximately a third.[28]
The cable was reported to have been repaired on June 28,[29] following lengthy delays related to Indonesia's preferentialcabotage policy and administrative procedures.[30]