MOU signed on major telecommunications deal for Perth to Singapore submarine cable

Nextgen Group today announced it had signed an MOU for a $US120M 50/50 joint venture with Australian network provider, Vocus, to construct and operate a high-quality, high-speed submarine cable between Perth and Singapore.

The 4,600km Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) would directly connect Australia to Singapore via Indonesia, providing the first 100Gbit/s high-speed connection from Western Australia to South-East Asia.

Nextgen CEO David Yuile said Vocus was an ideal partner in the project because the company already had capacity on several existing international cables, including SEA-ME-WE-3.

"Our new cable will provide a high-speed, low latency path to Singapore and Jakarta, both key growth markets and IT centres. It will also be very beneficial for the WA economy, particularly the resource sector, providing direct connectivity to the Asia Pacific region," he said.

"In a broader context, the project is important nationally as it will add value to available telecommunications infrastructure and provide subsea cable diversity for governments and businesses around the country."

Nextgen has already committed millions of dollars in infrastructure spend in the WA region, with construction on its $US150 North West Cable submarine project, connecting the off-shore resources platforms in the Browse, Canarvon and Bonaparte Basins from Port Hedland to Darwin in addition to supporting many on-shore mining operations throughout the region. The project is due for completion in mid-2016.

In Perth, Nextgen has a Tier III certified data centre at Shenton Park and construction is underway on a $20m expansion project to triple its existing capacity.

The Perth to Singapore Cable project is scheduled to begin construction in the first quarter of 2016, with completion within 18 months.

The deal remains subject to due diligence and regulatory approval and will be formalised in coming months.

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