Telstra anticipates Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable RFS
Telstra says that it expects the Southern Cross NEXT (SX NEXT) submarine cable to be ready for service this July. The undersea system, which recently achieved provisional acceptance, is designed to provide 72 Tbps of connectivity between Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., with branching units to Fiji, Kiribati, and Tokelau.
SX NEXT spans approximately 15,857 km and provides its capacity via 400G wavelengths over four fiber pairs. Telstra says the system is the first single span express cable and the first direct cable to run between Australia and the U.S. and offers the shortest submarine route between the two countries.
“With the rise of cloud-based services and hybrid remote working models, connectivity with diversity and reliability is more critical than ever to ensure constant uptime and uninterrupted services,” commented Oliver Camplin-Warner, Telstra International’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on our network infrastructure and work with our industry partners on providing more accessible, faster and more stable connectivity to our customers, enabling them to connect with the rest of the world.
“The SX NEXT cable will strengthen Telstra’s existing subsea network infrastructure – one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region – and solidify our commitment to connecting people and communities from Australia and the Pacific Islands to the U.S. and around the world,” Camplin-Warner concluded.
Telstra possesses a 25% share of the Southern Cross Cables Network (SCCN), the owner of SX NEXT (see “Telstra to buy 25% stake in Southern Cross Cable Network, lease capacity in Southern Cross NEXT”). SCCN also owns the current Southern Cross network, a pair of submarine cables architected in a loop.
A step along the way
Pioneer Consulting, which has worked with SCCN on SX NEXT, announced earlier this month that the submarine cable achieved provisional acceptance. The company says it performed market and business case analysis, procurement and contracting, project implementation, quality assurance, and shipboard representation. Pioneer also said it helped ensure the successful commissioning of the subsea system between each cable station.
Alcatel Submarine Networks performed the system installation as well as designed and manufactured the cable, repeaters, and branching units, Pioneer also noted. The company said it expects SX NEXT to enter commercial service on July 7, 2022.
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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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