New Australia-Asia cable
03 December 2007
Momentum is building behind a new $150 million hybrid undersea cable serving Western Australian oil and gas providers and linking Perth and South East Asia.
Source: Communications Day Issue 3170
Ochre revives plans for new Australia-Asia cable, via WA energy fields
Momentum is building behind a new $150 million hybrid undersea cable serving Western Australian oil and gas providers and linking Perth and South East Asia.
Following news that Asia Netcom is considering investment in a new cable from Australia’s West Coast, Ochre Services has revealed details of a revived project modelled on the Nava Networks initiative snuffed out by the 2002 market collapse.
The multi-terabit network would link Perth to Jakarta and Singapore, with initial branches to oil and gas facilities at Geraldton and Dampier. While only 10% of Australia’s international traffic runs from the West Coast, service providers are concerned about the lack of diversity and the high prices available on the current SeaMeWe3 cable. The Western Australian Government has identified a need for new connections to Asia and Europe reducing latency and providing route diversity.
Ochre Services MD Brett O’Riley confirmed the backing of equity investors and that discussions are underway to confirm capacity commitments from Telco, oil and gas customers. Talks are well advanced with cable vendors and engineering companies and O’Riley expects to announce a major progression early in 2008.
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