New Australasia-US submarine cable network successfully commissioned

Southern Cross Cables has launched a new submarine cable network service that spans more than 15,840 kilometres and connects Australasia with the United States.

Southern Cross, in collaboration with Maryland-based Ciena, was able to successfully commission and test the services error-free as part of the NEXT commissioning processes, leading to the introduction of 400GbE services between Sydney, Auckland, and Los Angeles.

The NEXT cable will support Southern Cross’ aim of ensuring reliable connectivity between Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands to other countries and terriroties. The cable will also provide the first international submarine fibre connections to Tokelau and Kiribati and contribute to Fiji’s growing role as a digital hub for the Pacific Islands.

The cable network was completed in just over two years. It will become the third route in Southern Cross’ 43,000-kilometre network eco-system between Australasia and the USA.

Southern Cross said the NEXT system will boost the capacity of the eco-system by approximately 500 per cent, to around 100 Terabits/second, effectively more than doubling Australia and New Zealand’s direct international connectivity capability to the USA.