The MViSTA undersea cable, a 16-fiber-pair system backed by the US, will finalize its supplier selection between Japan’s NEC and France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks by late October, a project executive stated. The initiative, costing an estimated $400 million, is scheduled for deployment in late 2028. Mark Procter, deputy head of Stavian High Tech Infrastructure, confirmed these details, marking the first public disclosure of the project’s cost, supplier shortlist, and US involvement.
Developers intentionally excluded Chinese suppliers and designed the cable’s route to bypass the South China Sea, an area subject to territorial disputes involving Beijing. This decision supports broader US strategies to reduce dependence on Chinese-made telecom equipment. Vietnam’s past contracts with Huawei and ZTE for its 5G network have already strained relations with Washington, adding complexity to the region’s digital infrastructure planning.
The cable will stretch 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles), linking Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand while connecting to a proposed data-center campus in southern Vietnam. Stavian, the project’s lead developer, emphasized that no Chinese firm will participate in the campus’s core technologies, which will support hyperscale cloud and AI operations. The US Trade and Development Agency is currently funding a feasibility study for the campus, with findings due in March 2027.
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Vietnam’s current network relies on just six submarine cables, but the government aims to expand this to at least 15 by 2030 to address persistent outages. The urgency of the MViSTA project is reflected in Vietnam’s accelerated approval process. Among its investors are Midas Capital from Tokyo and LitUp Network, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s OMS Group, which will oversee cable installation. US manufacturer SubCom was invited to participate but declined due to existing obligations.
The project’s completion could alleviate infrastructure constraints that have deterred major US tech firms from investing more heavily in Vietnam. Nonetheless, regulatory challenges, particularly restrictions on cross-border data transfers, continue to pose significant obstacles, according to industry assessments.
