Google To Establish World’s Largest Submarine Cable Network With Its Australia Connect Initiative

Google has announced the Australia Connect Initiative, a major project to enhance digital connectivity across Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.

It will deliver new subsea cable systems, improving internet resilience and reliability in the region. The initiative builds on the existing Pacific Connect Project and involves several key partners, including Vocus, NEXTDC, and SUBCO, with support from state and local governments.

A key feature of the initiative is the Bosun subsea cable, which will link Darwin, Australia, to Christmas Island and then connect to Singapore.

The cable’s name, Bosun, is inspired by the White-tailed Tropicbird, a symbol of Christmas Island, and the maritime term for a ship’s lead deckhand.

Another interlink cable will connect Melbourne, Perth, and Christmas Island, providing internet services between the U.S. and Asia through Australia.

These new cables will diversify internet routes, offering low-latency, high-reliability infrastructure to support growing digital demands.

Despite its small population of 1,250, Christmas Island is important because of its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, about 350 kilometres from Jakarta and 1,500 kilometres from the Australian mainland.

The subsea cables will boost digital resilience on the island and link it with crucial infrastructure upgrades happening across Northern Australia.

Michelle Rowland, MP, Minister for Communications, Australia, welcomed the initiative by Google and its partners, saying that these new cable systems will expand and strengthen the resilience of the country’s digital connectivity through new and diversified routes and complement the Government’s ongoing efforts.

The CEO & Managing Director of NEXTDC, Craig Scroggie, commented that submarine cables are the unseen lifelines linking Australia to the global digital ecosystem.

These investments will improve every customer’s experience by increasing data speeds, enhancing reliability and redundancy, and strengthening cybersecurity across Australia and the Indo-Pacific.

Rosanna Natoli, Mayor of Sunshine Coast, says they are excited to partner with Google and that investing in digital infrastructure is helping to develop a connected, thriving and tech-ready future for the Sunshine Coast and beyond.

Jarrod Nink, Interim CEO of Vocus, says the initiative will bolster the country’s position as a vital gateway between Asia and the United States by connecting key nodes in Australia’s East, West, and North to global digital markets.

Australia Connect will create a low latency, secure, and stable network architecture while providing added reliability for Google, its customers, and partners.

In 2021, Google launched the $1 billion (AUD) Digital Future Initiative to invest in infrastructure and research. A report by Analysys Mason estimates that the company’s previous submarine cable deployments will boost Australia’s GDP by $98.5 billion (AUD) between 2022 and 2026 and create around 68,000 jobs by 2027.

The project will establish the world’s largest submarine cable network spanning 42,500 kilometres of fibre optic cable connecting the U.S., Australia, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

References: Google Cloud, Reuters