The consortium behind the INDIGO Central subsea cable has announced its landing in Sydney, Australia.
Once complete, INDIGO Central will be the first subsea cable directly connecting Sydney on the east coast of the nation with Perth on the west coast.
The cable is on track to be fully installed in early December. It will be designed to complement the connecting INDIGO West cable connecting Singapore with Perth.
The INDIGO project is being funded by a consortium consisting of Singtel – parent company of Australian operator Optus – Optus rival Telstra, the Australian academic and research network (AARNet), Indonesia's Indosat, telecoms infrastructure company SubPartners, and Google.
The overall INDIGO system is expected to be ready for service in mid-2019. The 36Tbps, two fiber pair cable system will span 9,200km, and be the first direct connection between Sydney and Singapore.
“The landing of INDIGO Central cable by Optus is a landmark development which will boost Australia’s communications ecosystem with much-needed high-speed capacity and network diversity,” Singtel VP of carrier services for group enterprise Ooi Seg Keat said.
“Together with INDIGO West, the next-generation INDIGO Central data superhighway will enhance Singtel and Optus’ subsea networks, creating a cable ring connecting Australia to Singapore, through Southeast Asia, across the Pacific and back to Australia.”