Visitors observe a simulation scene of undersea communication cable laying at Shanghai Telecom Museum on June 24, 2011. Photo: VCG

China's reported construction of an undersea internet cable is a normal business activity to meet data transmission requirements and will also be beneficial to maintaining data security, said an industry analyst.

Chinese state-owned telecom firms, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom, are developing a $500 million undersea fiber-optic internet cable network that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe to rival a similar US-backed project, Reuters reported, citing four people involved in the deal.

The cable, which will cost approximately $500 million to complete, will be manufactured and laid by China's HMN Technologies Co, Reuters said, adding that HMN Tech, which is majority-owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric Co, would receive subsidies from the Chinese state to build the cable.

When the Global Times called HMN Tech on Friday, a staff member said that he was not aware of the content of the report and was not prepared to respond.

China Mobile and China Telecom did not respond to an interview request from the Global Times as of press time on Friday.

Since a large amount of data in the online society needs to be transmitted around the world, submarine optical cables are a normal infrastructure requirement, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Friday.

Xiang noted that China is a global communication powerhouse, and it is in a leading position in the world both in the production and laying of submarine optical cables. Therefore, it is also a normal commercial activity for Chinese operators to work with foreign operators to construct submarine optical cables.

Meanwhile, Xiang believes that there is evidence indicating that the US has been trying to dominate submarine optical cables and monitor global data transmission. China's strengthening of submarine optical cable construction will help it avoid being restricted by the US and maintain its own data security.

Global Times