NEC wins $475m Asia cable contract

NEC wins $475m Asia cable contract

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's NEC Corp said on Wednesday it had won
a $475 million order to build an underwater fiber optic cable
connecting major cities in Asia.

NEC, one of Japan's largest electronics makers and also a
maker of cable systems, said it last week signed a contract with
telecoms carrier Asia Global Crossing Ltd, a joint venture
between heavyweights Global Crossing Ltd, Microsoft Corp and
Softbank Corp

The cable will link Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the
Philippines and Taiwan -- where demand for large-capacity
Internet traffic is growing rapidly -- NEC said in a statement.

The project, phase 2 of the East Asia crossing submarine cable
system project for a 7,900-km (4,909-mile) undersea cable, is
part of a 19,500-km (12,120-mile) route that would connect those
areas with Korea and Japan, with capacity of 2.56 terabits, NEC
said.

"This contract to construct phase 2 of the East Asia crossing
is a great opportunity for NEC to help build the future of Asia's
emerging Internet society and to help connect Asia seamlessly to
the global economy," Mineo Sugiyama, senior executive vice
president of NEC, said in a statement.

The contract follows two earlier ones NEC won in April. One of
them, worth $800 million and the company's largest such order, is
to supply an underwater cable system also linking countries in
Asia. The other is to link Australia and Japan in a contract
worth $350 million.

The news came just before the Tokyo stock market closed. NEC
shares slipped 4.23 percent to 2,150 yen, as high-techs were sold
off on fears that poor earnings by International Business
Machines Corp would further weaken U.S. techs later in the day.