A subsea cable system linking Singapore, Indonesia and Australia will be built to boost internet connectivity between the regions.

The INDIGO cable system is backed by a consortium of tech and telecom companies that includes Alphabet Inc.'s Google Inc., Telstra Corp. Ltd., Singtel, Indosat Ooredoo, SubPartners and AARNet, according to an April 6 joint press release.

The consortium chose Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia Corp., to build the system, which is slated for completion by mid-2019.

INDIGO, previously known as APX West and Central, will span about 9,000 kilometers between Australia and Southeast Asia, and have a minimum capacity of 18 Tbps.

Meanwhile, Australia-based network provider Superloop Ltd. announced April 6 that it was joining the INDIGO consortium by acquiring member SubPartners, a developer of submarine cable systems, for US$2.5 million.