IPS, Inc., the TSE-listed (TSE: 4390) parent of InfiniVAN, is a member of a consortium that involves Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook), TM Technology Sdn. Bhd., PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk and a couple of Asian carriers building the CANDLE submarine cable system announced in an inception event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 22, 2025.
CANDLE is a 24-fiber pair Intra-Asia cable connecting Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan that is aimed at addressing the region’s growing need for high capacity, low latency systems demanded by 5G and AI-driven technologies. The cable, when completely activated, can deliver up to 570 Tbps and is targeted to be ready for service at the end of the first quarter of 2028. NEC Corporation of Japan is the system supplier.
InfiniVAN plays a key role in the CANDLE system as the designated landing Party in Baler, Aurora province on the East coast of the Philippines. The Baler cable landing station (CLS) broke ground on August 6, 2025. Designed to accommodate up to 4 submarine cable systems, the Baler CLS is already being considered by two other systems that may land ahead of CANDLE. InfiniVAN’s ongoing domestic fiber optic network infrastructure expansion will connect the Baler CLS to the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) — an InfiniVAN-initiated project started in 2022 with 2 other PH telcos — via existing and newly built underground routes along expressways that mitigate frequent cuts associated with routes in densely populated areas. InfiniVAN’s fiber network is connected to all of the existing telco POPs (Point of Presence) as well as existing and announced hyperscale data center projects.
When completed, IPS’s investment in CANDLE will more than quadruple InfiniVAN’s current 20+ Tbps lit capacity to the internet backbone — the 3rd largest from the PH today. It also adds further diversity to InfiniVAN’s IRU capacities in 9 other cable systems with PH touch points. This milestone comes at the heels of the recent signing of an MOU among IPS, InfiniVAN, and the Philippines Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to fast track the completion of a Government Network infrastructure that will enable the country to achieve its digital transformation goals under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) as well as support the newly enacted Konektadong Pinoy Act (R.A. 12234).
