Nextgen and Australian network provider, Vocus (ASX:VOC), have confirmed their joint venture to resurrect the construction of a second submarine cable between Singapore and Perth in a $US120M deal.
The 4,600km Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) will directly connect Australia to Singapore via Indonesia and will provide the first 100Gbit/s high-speed connection from Western Australia to South-East Asia.
Nextgen chief executive, David Yuile, said the cable will provide a high-speed, low latency path to Singapore and Jakarta that are both key markets and IT centres.
“It will also be very beneficial for the Western Australia economy, particularly the resource sector, providing direct connectivity to the Asia Pacific region. The project is also important nationally as it will add value to available telecommunications infrastructure and provide subsea cable diversity for governments and businesses around the country,” he added.
The project is scheduled to begin construction in the first quarter of 2016 with expected completion within 18 months.
Vocus said the proposal is to be funded using a mix of cash, project debt and customer pre-sales and remains subject to due diligence and regulatory approval, which is expected to be formalised in coming months.
