iscover
Secure undersea network systems provider SUBCO has announced the latest submarine cable project to connect Australia and the United States with a new express hypercable.
The APX East submarine cable project is planned to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2028, according to a statement from the company. A Hawaii branch is planned to follow in the fourth quarter of 2029.
The project, considered to be the single longest continuous subsea optical path in the world and the longest system able to support single-end power, will reportedly involve 16 fibre pair system that will be the first to offer hyperscalers, neoclouds and carriers, direct fibre connectivity between Australia and mainland US without any landing or interconnection in between.
“By utilising the latest developments in submarine cable technologies, we have designed the longest, continuous optical subsea cable path in the world and one that can be powered from a single end in fault condition,” said SUBCO founder and co-chief executive Bevan Slattery.
“Unlike all existing transpacific systems between Australia and the United States, fibre pair owners on APX East simply need to install SLTE on either end, and they’re away.
“No regeneration, no intermediate PoP’s; just a single all-deepwater route.”
The project would be the first express cable system between Australia and the United States that does not require optical regeneration, capable of being single-end power-fed across the entire system.
It’s also the first hypercable to land in a new diverse location to the north of Sydney’s existing cable protection zone, separate from all announced hypercables landing in the Southern Cable Protection Zone.
Additionally, it’s Australia’s first sovereign-owned international hypercable, reducing reliance on US hyperscalers for Australian connectivity needs.
Future branches to Hawaii and Fiji are additional to the trunk and not required for the main system to be ready for service. These branches are expected to be operational in 2029 and are optional for customers seeking additional resiliency to existing or future networks, or to regenerate capacity to support network growth.
“Hyperscalers and neoclouds are looking to deploy 3GW of AI factories in Australia between now and 2028,” said Slattery.
“This is going to need between 75Tb-150Tb of international capacity to deliver those tokens to the world.
“Any future system with a 2029 or 2030 RFS simply won’t work. APX East is an all-deepwater system between Sydney and California, that reduces permitting risk, allowing an accelerated installation and completion.
“With all the talk of AI factories, people are forgetting that the longest lead item for Australia isn’t going to be power, land, data centres, or chips; it’s going to be international connectivity at AI scale. APX East will be a critical enabler for Australia’s aspirations to become a leader in the AI world.”
