Data cable connects WA’s iron ore heartland to the world

A high-capacity data cable connecting the Pilbara to Perth will be switched on at the end of 2024, boosting the region’s ability to latch onto technology improvements.  

Dubbed Project Horizon, the $150m plan will see a 2000km fibre-optic cable stretch from Perth to Port Hedland where it will connect to existing subsea cables running to Darwin and south-east Asia.

A Vocus spokesperson said detailed planning for the project first mooted in 2021 had been completed.

“We're very excited at the potential for Horizon and the (Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable) combined to provide a geographically diverse cable system that provides both terrestrial and submarine routes for added protection,” he said.

It follows news last week Vocus’ 1000km subsea connection between Port Hedland and the DJSC had come online.

A high capacity fibre-optic network is critical for industries increasingly focused on data and technology, such as advanced manufacturing and cloud-based computing services.

Project Horizon will be the first such network in the Pilbara where Vocus has been sounding out the resources sector.

Vocus chief executive Ellie Sweeney said the DJSC would turn northern Australia into an Asia Pacific data hub.

“Submarine cables are the superhighways of the global internet, carrying 97 per cent of global internet traffic between major data centres,” she said.

“The DJSC connects to the Terabit Territory intercapital fibre backbone from Darwin to Adelaide and Brisbane, which Vocus upgraded with a 25-times capacity increase in 2021.

“Combined, DJSC and Terabit Territory fibre network allow data from Singapore to flow through Darwin to all mainland capitals on Vocus’ national fibre network.”

Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the cable would narrow Australia’s digital divide.

“Diversification of our international cable landing points is strategically important for Australia's telecommunications resilience,” she said.

“Removing our reliance on a single cable landing point minimises vulnerabilities and increases our ability to remain connected.”

Terabit Territory is an NT Government and Vocus deal to upgrade the region’s fibre optic cables to attract business investment.

ASX-listed NextDC revealed in March it would build a flagship data centre in Darwin to make use of the cable, citing the Top End capital as an ideal location for companies seeking services near Asia in a geopolitically stable region.