Bold $1.5bn ‘HyperOne’ project by Bevan Slattery could make Darwin the ‘digital gateway’ to Asia

AN AUSTRALIAN tech entrepreneur’s plan to build a data superhighway could turn Darwin into the digital gateway between southeast asia and the nation’s eastern seaboard

AN Australian tech entrepreneur’s plan to build a $1.5bn data superhighway could turn Darwin into the digital gateway between southeast asia and the nation’s eastern seaboard.

Dubbed ‘HyperOne’, the project by Brisbane-tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery involves building more than 20,000km of new fibre network to connect major data hubs in every capital city across the country for the first time.

It will be the largest private digital infrastructure of its kind according to the company and is set to cost $1.5bn, create more than 10,000 jobs during construction, and be capable of transmitting more than 10,000 terabits per second.

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Tech millionaire Bevan Slattery at Eagle Street Brisbane. Pic Mark Cranitch

HyperOne is expected to deliver more capacity than every other national network ever built in the country.

“HyperOne is big, bold and way overdue,” Mr Slattery said. “We need to build it and the users will come

It’s proposed the project will support industries including data centres, aerospace and Defence and provide transmission to the National Broadband Network (NBN) and telcos.

HyperOne will create new major interconnection for international undersea cables into Australia from Asia and is expected to attract investors keen to take advantage of high-speed digital connectivity.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Picture: Che Chorley

Chief Minister Michael Gunner is hopeful that HyperOne will make Darwin the “key point of digital interconnect between Southeast Asia … and Australia’s east coast”.

“We will be the digital entrance for the rest of Asia into Australia, and we are ready to roll out the red carpet,” he said.

“Infrastructure investment at this scale will supercharge Darwin’s appeal as a base for both digital start-ups and multinational companies.”

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Mr Slattery said the existing national transmission network was built prior to the advent of Netflix or iPhones, and was not prepared for future industries.

The HyperOne project team is in discussions with the NBN, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, and both levels of government.