C2C In Dispute With 360pacific Over Payment For Capacity

SingTel subsidiary C2C Pte. Ltd., which was formed in July last year to build a pan-Asia submarine cable system, is currently in dispute with 360networks subsidiary 360pacific on the payment for supply of fiber optic capacity.

According to a SingTel statement to the Singapore Exchange, the dispute is in relation to “various issues relating to C2C’s agreement to supply fiber optic capacity on the C2C cable network to 360Pacific for a purchase price of US$800 million.”

Touted as the network with the largest capacity in the world at 7.5Tbps, and slated to begin carrying traffic in Q3 2001, the US$2 billion C2C cable network project promised city-to-city connectivity for customers – offering direct links to Asia’s major business centers as C2C would work with local carriers in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and, subject to regulatory approval, China.

When the 17,000-kilometer long cable network project was announced last year, SingTel officials also announced that network capacity would be available on a wholesale basis to ISPs, global carriers and network operators, a few of which had already expressed interest in purchasing or swapping capacity in the cable network. 360networks and an affiliate of submarine cable manufacturer Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. were named as interested parties.

The current dispute between C2C and 360pacific involves issues such as: whether installments amounting to US$100 million are due and payable by 360pacific; and whether C2C “has performed certain obligations concerning provision of information and timely delivery” of the cable network.

SingTel contended in its statement that 360pacific had already paid US$140 million of the US$800 million purchase price to C2C, but had failed to pay installment payments that were past due.

“We are involved in a dispute resolution process with C2C, and as such cannot comment further,” said a 360networks spokesperson when contacted by asia.internet.com.

The SingTel statement added that the dispute would be referred to arbitration if it cannot be resolved amicably.