July 9, 2025
SoftBank is to build two new subsea cable landing stations (CLS) to host a new upcoming cable linking Japan to the US and mainland Asia.
The Japanese telco this week said it has been selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to establish new landing stations, as part of a government initiative to strengthen the nation’s digital infrastructure with more international submarine cable routes.
The telecoms firm said it will begin coordinating with related parties to establish new landing stations for the East Asia to North America (E2A) submarine cable system announced in March.
Set to connect Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and the US, the new landing stations will be located in northeastern and southwestern parts of Japan – specifically Tomakomai City in Hokkaido Prefecture and Itoshima City in Fukuoka Prefecture.
SoftBank noted Tomakomai and Itoshima offer “optimal geographical risk diversification” from its existing Maruyama CLS near Tokyo in Minamiboso City, Chiba Prefecture. The upcoming E2A cable is also set to land in Maruyama.
Announced earlier this year, the 12,500km E2A subsea cable will land in Japan as well as Toucheng, Taiwan; Busan, South Korea; and Morro Bay, California.
Built by Alcatel Submarine Networks, the cable will have a capacity of more than 192Tbps across 12 fiber pairs. It is set to go live in H2 2028.
The cable consortium for the project includes Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom, SoftBank, Verizon, and South Korea’s SK Broadband.
According to SubmarineNetworks, the Maruyama CLS is a cable landing campus with four buildings. The campus hosts nine cables, including 2020’s trans-Pacific Jupiter cable and 2019’s ADC system. SoftBank constructed a new three-story, 1,500 sqm (2,700 sq ft) building at the Maruyama site in late 2019.
Most of Japan’s landing stations are currently concentrated in Kitaibaraki (Ibaraki Prefecture), Minamiboso (Chiba Prefecture), and Shima (Mie Prefecture).
Read more…
AloJapan.com