KUALA LUMPUR: Arus Restu Sdn Bhd (ARSB) will participate in a project to connect the MIST (Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand) and the Apricot cable systems, expected to be ready to operate in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

       In a statement, ARSB’s CEO Rozaimy Rahman said when both systems are connected, Malaysian Internet users will have better international connectivity.

       “Both Apricot and MIST collectively will further boost the Internet capacity in the post-pandemic era,” he said.

       This would enable Malaysia to remain competitive and continue to attract foreign investments, he added.

       Apricot is a new large-capacity unique-routed optical submarine cable within Asian countries and the United States.

       The project, which has been planned since 2018, will be a 12,000km system, with capacity of more than 190Tbps (terabytes per second), east-bound into Tokyo from South-East Asia.

       Meanwhile, the MIST cable system which is commissioned by Orient Link Ltd, is an 8,000km cable going towards the west terminating into Mumbai from South-East Asia.

       Orient Link’s chief executive officer Yoshio Sato said these projects – Apricot and MIST – were planned over many years and the team was proud to see these systems being constructed now.

       “These cables will contribute greatly to the economies of the countries where the cables will land and enhance diversity from existing cable.

       “Countries were selected based on the robust economic growth. What makes it more convenient is the openness of the regulatory to support the investment into these countries,” he said.