Coast's new $6.6m data hub takes shape
Direct fibre optic cable connections to schools, the university, tech businesses and the hospital delivering high-speed internet has moved another step closer.
Sunshine Coast
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DIRECT fibre optic cable connections to schools, the university, tech businesses and the hospital delivering high-speed internet has moved another step closer.
The contractor has been confirmed to design and build the region's $6.6 million international broadband submarine cable landing station next to the new Maroochydore CBD.
Australian-based firm Vertiv was awarded the contract at an announcement ceremony on Friday.
Funding for the new building came from the $35 million Sunshine Coast International Broadband Submarine Cable project budget.
The new building will house the connection point for the submarine cable and its landside networks and will be designed to take up to four submarine cables.
The council has partnered with RTI Connectivity to lay a 550km undersea cable connecting the Sunshine Coast to the 9600km Japan-Guam-Australia South cable.
That cable will link with the Southeast Asia-United States cable, creating connections for more than 1.5 billion people.
The Coast's broadband submarine cable project was expected to create up to 864 new jobs and stimulate $927 million in new investment in Queensland.
The landing station was expected to be in service by mid-2020, with construction starting in January next year and finishing by the end of 2019.
Mayor Mark Jamieson said the impact of Vertiv on the project would be huge, as it boasted major companies like Ali Baba, AT & T, Siemens and Vodafone as clients around the globe.
The new building will be multi-tenanted with companies able to establish a presence at the connection point.
Cr Jamieson praised the media for its support of the project to-date.
Vertiv's Australia and New Zealand managing director Robert Linsdell said the capacity for three additional cables was a great benefit.
"There aren't that many cables coming into Australia,” he said.
Cr Jamieson said the cable would bring confidence to the region as the only one in Queensland and future companies looking to bring a cable ashore would do so at their own cost.
He said the cable would be armour-plated and buried deep under dunes and well-protected from cyber threats.
State Development Minister Cameron Dick said the project would have a flow-on effect for all Queenslanders.
The project had received a $15 million commitment from the State Government.
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