Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable nears final landing in Australia
Southern Cross Cables Ltd. says it expects its Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable will land in Coogee, New South Wales, Australia, on or about December 14. The third and latest addition to Southern Cross’s submarine network portfolio will link Australia, New Zealand, and the United States with stops at the Pacific islands of Fiji, Tokelau, and Kiribati along the way.
Launched in 2017, the Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable will span approximately 15,857 km and offer 72 Tbps of capacity, more than three times the capacity of the company’s other two cables combined (20 Tbps). Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) will supply the optical transmission technology (see “Southern Cross to use Ciena GeoMesh Extreme on NEXT submarine cable system”). The deployment will cost approximately $350 million. Southern Cross expects the new undersea cable system will be ready for services in the second quarter of 2022.
“This cable will provide Australians with an incredible boost to its bandwidth needs at a time when data connectivity has never been higher,” said Southern Cross CEO Laurie Miller. “We’re increasingly working from home while streaming content at huge rates and in better quality than ever before. The addition of 72 terabits of capacity will provide Australians with a level of assurance that they’ll get the data they need when they need it,”
“Having a high-speed connection of this magnitude directly with the heart of US innovation in California will ensure Australians have the bandwidth they need to remain at the cutting edge of technology,” Miller concluded.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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