With the operation of the Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) on 14 September 2018, Singapore has become an important strategic communications hub not only for the region but also to the rest of the world.  The ASC is a 4,600km submarine cable system linking Perth, Western Australia to Singapore via Jakarta, Indonesia, providing a much-needed alternative to the trouble-plagued ageing Sea-Me-We3 submarine cable. It will stretch between Perth and South East Asian countries with landing points in Jakarta and Tanah Merah, Singapore.

Costing USD$170 million, the ASC will deliver 40Tbps of capacity via the Vocus Australian terrestrial network and will offer a significant boost to Australia’s international connectivity capacity into the important Asian region. Linking Vocus Communications’ Australian terrestrial fibre network to Singapore and Indonesia, the ASC will benefit consumers and businesses throughout the region. The ASC also opens the door for a new strategic data route called the “Great Southern Route (GSR) which will connect South East Asia to North America via Australia. The GSR provides a new cost-effective alternative to existing Pacific routes to service the massive growth in data transit that utilises the latest technology and diversity.

Cross section of the Vocus Australia Singapore Cable

Vocus Group Chief Executive and Managing Director, Kevin Russell, said: “The ASC took almost two years to construct – involving more than five years of planning, laying 4600km of undersea cable (at times kilometres down to the ocean bed) and with more than 60 staff involved in the construction.  What is more important is that the project was delivered on time and under budget.   I am very pleased to note that the ASC marks the fully operational start of Australia’s newest, fastest and most direct connectivity route into Asia and beyond”.

Singapore plays a pivotal role in ASC. The country’s advanced technology infrastructure hosts many of the world’s major content providers and also supports an extensive interconnection within greater Asia.

The ASC is a four-pair fibre network which will deliver a minimum of 40Tbps of capacity – 41,942,977 Mbps.  This is fast enough to stream more than 8 million HD movies simultaneously and with some bandwidth to spare.

The ASC, which is solely owned by Vocus Communications, extends the reach of the company’s 27,000km Australian fibre network, delivering connectivity, bandwidth and reliability to consumers and business as the world becomes more data-driven.

Demand for data capacity on the route is growing at a very rapid clip and the only other comparable cable system is operating at capacity and nearing end-of-life.