Darwin to become international data connectivity hub for the Asia-Pacific
The sign-off on $100m in construction contracts will make Darwin Australia’s newest entry point for international data connectivity.
Northern Territory
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THE sign-off on $100m in construction contracts will make Darwin Australia’s newest entry point for international data connectivity, paving the way for our city to be a data hub for the Asia-Pacific.
Specialist fibre and network solutions provider Vocus has signed off on the contracts, which is the final piece of the Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable (DJSC), a $500m system of high-capacity cables connecting Perth, Darwin, Port Hedland, Christmas Island, Indonesia, and Singapore.
The construction contracts will deliver the much anticipated $100m, 1000km cable linking the Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC) to the North West Cable System (NWCS) in Port Hedland.
The Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable, which has been years in the planning, means 40 terabits per second of internet capacity between Australia and Asia and marks the final stage in a sequence of major infrastructure builds by Vocus in Australia’s North and West.
The DJSC will interconnect with the 4600km Australia-Singapore Cable between Perth and Singapore and the 2100km North West Cable System between Port Hedland and Darwin.
Survey work will start next month, with cable manufacture due to start in November and installation in 2022. The completed system is expected to be online by mid-2023.
Vocus director and chief executive officer Kevin Russell said the announcement of the first international submarine connection into Darwin will unlock Darwin as a major new data hub for the Asia-Pacific.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the connection into Darwin would open the door to new opportunities for advanced manufacturing, data-centres and cloud-based computing service for Territorians and investors.
“The Territory is going digital – and there is so much opportunity for growth and jobs in this space,” Mr Gunner said.
“All digital highways lead into or through Darwin and that will equal jobs of the future and burgeoning digital industry in the Top End.
“This further cements Darwin as Northern Australia’s most advanced digital economy.”
Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the new international cable landing in Darwin would provide more capacity and additional redundancy for Australia.
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“Submarine cables are vital infrastructure, connecting Australia to the rest of the world,” he said.
The announcement coincides with the completion of the Terabit Territory project with the Northern Territory government, which has seen Vocus deploy 200Gbps (gigabits per second, per wavelength) technology on its domestic fibre network into Darwin.
Vocus’ Darwin fibre routes now have 20 terabits per second of capacity, scalable to deliver up to 480Tbps of total capacity – with a future upgrade path in place to deliver 400Gbps technology as it becomes commercially available.
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