Google Announces Subsea Cable Project Connecting Australia's Darwin to Christmas Island
Google partners with Alphabet to connect Christmas Island to Darwin via subsea cable. Australia's initiative to build more subsea cable pathways to Asia and the U.S.. Collaboration between industry and government partners to enhance digital resilience.
This initiative is expected to enhance Australia's digital resilience. Despite its small population of 1,250, Christmas Island holds strategic importance, located 350 km from Jakarta and 1,500 km west of the Australian mainland.
The cable project coincides with upgrades to airfields in Australia's north by the Australian and U.S. militaries. This includes the deployment of U.S. Marines and Japanese troops next year. Google's Vice President of Global Network Infrastructure, Brian Quigley, revealed that the Bosun cable will connect Darwin to Christmas Island. Additionally, another subsea cable will link Melbourne to Perth on the west coast, then onwards to Christmas Island and Singapore.
Australia aims to bolster its digital connectivity and reduce the risk of disruptions by establishing more subsea cable routes to Asia and the United States. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland highlighted the significance of these new cable systems in enhancing Australia's digital resilience and connectivity. Partners in the project include Australian data centre company NextDC, telecommunications group Vocus backed by Macquarie, and Subco, which previously constructed an Indian Ocean cable from Perth to Oman.
Despite being 900 km apart, Christmas Island and Cocos Islands are considered Indian Ocean neighbours. Cocos Islands play a crucial role in Australia's maritime surveillance operations, particularly in light of increased submarine activity in the region. The new cables will also integrate with a Pacific Islands network funded by the United States and Google, connecting the U.S. and Australia through hubs in Fiji and French Polynesia.
Vocus highlighted that the combined networks will form the world's largest submarine cable system, spanning 42,500 km of fibre optic cable between the U.S. and Asia via Australia.
Google partners with Alphabet to connect Christmas Island to Darwin via subsea cable
Australia's initiative to build more subsea cable pathways to Asia and the U.S.
Collaboration between industry and government partners to enhance digital resilience
Source: REUTERS