Recently, the Hainan branch of the Southeast Asia-Hainan-Hong Kong (SEA-H2X) submarine cable project successfully landed in Lingshui, and the main trunk will connect Hong Kong and Singapore next year. In the afternoon of the same day, Gui Ruobai, director of the Information Industry Department of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Yin Dunbing, director of the Information and Communication Development Department of the Provincial Communications Administration, Fan Xiancai, member of the Standing Committee of the Lingshui County Party Committee and deputy county magistrate, and leaders of relevant units attended the landing ceremony and witnessed the successful completion of a series of sea landing operations such as beach preparation, traction rope landing, and submarine cable landing and testing on the beach 600 meters north of Xindayi Bay in Li'an Town, Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Hainan Province.
As we all know, 70% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, and the main ways to achieve transoceanic communications in the world are submarine cables and satellites. Compared with satellites, submarine cables have a higher cost-effectiveness, larger communication capacity, and faster transmission rate. Therefore, submarine cables have become an important means of contemporary international communications, carrying more than 95% of the world's international communications business and are the main arteries of global information communications.
As the most important transmission pipeline of the international communication network, submarine cables are the infrastructure of international communication information and the "central nervous system" of the global Internet. The Southeast Asia-Hainan-Hong Kong (SEA-H2X) submarine cable project is an important measure for China Mobile to implement the Party Central Committee and the State Council's support for Hainan's comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up and the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. The main trunk of the project runs northeast-southwest in the South China Sea, connecting Hong Kong, China to Singapore, and branches connect mainland China, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries and regions. The total length of the route is about 6,400 kilometers. The branch line S2 section has a landing point in Lingshui, Hainan, China. It is the second international submarine cable facility in Hainan built by China Mobile. The project is expected to be fully completed in the third quarter of 2025.
The completion of the project will further improve the level of interconnection and interoperability of international communication infrastructure, effectively meet the growing demand for network broadband and high-speed connections in Asia, optimize the layout of international communication networks, and provide greater impetus for the vigorous development of the global digital economy. According to China Mobile's plan, international infrastructure such as international submarine cable landing stations, international business bureaus, and international data centers that have been built in parallel will enable Hainan to develop into a leading international submarine cable hub in the Asia-Pacific region and reach the world, help the development of the digital economy and digital trade of Hainan Free Trade Port, and serve the information needs of Chinese-funded "going out" enterprises along the "Belt and Road" and the international data communication development needs of countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road.