INDIGO subsea cable system announced the completion of the first section of cable across approximately 2,400 kilometres from Christmas Island to Perth.
The laying of the second section of the cable linking Singapore and Indonesia will start this month and is expected to be completed by the end of December 2018. Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is building the INDIGO cable system connecting Singapore, Perth and Sydney, with two additional fibre pairs connecting Singapore and Jakarta via a branching unit.
The ASN cable ship, the Ile de Brehat, will be laying the INDIGO Central cable another 4,600 kilometres to link Perth to Sydney.
“This data superhighway will complement our existing links to Asia, US, Europe, Australia and the Middle East and allow Singtel and Optus to meet the growing demand for bandwidth-intensive applications as well as boost network diversity and resilience,” Ooi Seng Keat, vice president, Carrier Services, Group Enterprise at Singtel, said.
The 9,200-kilometre INDIGO cable system will strengthen links between Australia and Southeast Asia once operational by mid-2019.
The cable will use coherent optical technology enabling two-fibre pairs to support up to 36 terabits per second, the equivalent of simultaneously streaming millions of movies per second.
The INDIGO cable system will utilise new spectrum sharing technology so each consortium member will have the ability to independently take advantage of technology advancements for upgrades and capacity increases on demand.
Paul Abfalter, Telstra’s Head of North Asia & Global Wholesale, said that the development of the INDIGO West cable has leveraged Telstra’s engineering expertise and the scale of its Australian network. The cable will connect to Telstra’s terrestrial network to provide onward connectivity around Australia.