Vocus completes Darwin subsea cable connection

Vocus’ planned cable system linking Darwin to Jakarta and Singapore is one step closer to go-live, with the company saying the $100 million segment connecting Darwin is now complete.

The 1000km segment links the Australia-Singapore Cable, which runs Perth to Singapore, with the North-West Cable System, which spans Darwin to Port Hedland.

It was completed when the crew of Alcatel Submarine Networks’ cable ship Ile De Re lifted the Australia-Singapore Cable from a depth of 5km to splice it to the new cable. 

The company said the new international link will undergo final testing and be put into service mid-year.

Construction of the Darwin segment began in March.

CEO Ellie Sweeney said the Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore (DJSC) cable system will help establish Darwin as “a new high-tech centre in Southeast Asia."

“The system unlocks Darwin as a major new data hub for the Asia Pacific and establishes both Darwin and Port Hedland as new entry points for international data into Australia, providing greater resilience and redundancy to ensure international internet connectivity,” Sweeney said.

The Darwin cable also connects to Vocus’s “Terabit Territory” terrestrial fibre, which runs from Darwin to Adelaide and Brisbane.