Business & Finance

New Australasian Broadband Cable Proposal to Meet Regional Demand

May 15th, 2001

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), Cable & Wireless Optus and Telecom New Zealand today announced they are working on a broad proposal to establish a new telecommunications cable system between Singapore and Sydney.

Should the proposal go ahead, a submarine cable will be built linking Singapore, Jakarta and Perth. From the new cable, connections can be made throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region via the carriers' existing cable networks.

Mr Chris Hancock, Managing Director, Data & Business Services of Cable & Wireless Optus, said the companies were in early discussions and were interested in exploring opportunities to fulfil increasing broadband demands in the Asia Pacific region.

"The Asian region is a large and rapidly expanding market for corporate and IP services. All three companies have identified a growing need for robust infrastructure between Australia and Asia," Mr Hancock said.

"Our customers are demanding more and more bandwidth as they e-enable their businesses. This cable can forge an important link between the businesses of Asia and Australia.

"Subject to Board approval – and detailed financial terms – we believe this is a great proposal," Mr Hancock said.

Mr Lim Shyong, Executive Vice President (Global Business) of SingTel, said the cable would be suitable for mission-critical data and high bandwidth applications.

"We are very excited about this joint-venture as Australia has always represented an important part of our regional expansion plans.

"With the increasing demand for bandwidth in the region it makes perfect business sense for us to provide an efficient and cost-effective solution.

"The three companies already carry significant traffic on this route and our capacity requirements will continue to expand. By committing to work together, SingTel, Optus and Telecom New Zealand can plan to meet demand for years to come," he said.

Mr Simon Moutter, Group General Manager Network, Telecom New Zealand said the Asia to Australia link would complement the recently commissioned Southern Cross Cable Network.

"Our investments in cable have reaped rewards - operationally and financially. Similarly we look upon this proposal as a solid investment opportunity for the future of all three companies," Mr Moutter said.

The proposed cable system will utilise Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology and will vastly expand the capacity for streaming video, Internet traffic and other IP network-based applications.