Telstra aims for Pilbara network expansion

Telstra has announced a major commitment to boost digital infrastructure in the state’s Pilbara region as part of a bigger plan that could cost up to $1.6 billion.

The country’s biggest telco company today announced five new major routes in its Intercity Fibre Project and fibre connections expansion across the Pilbara.

The expansion and upgrade of the fibre network in the Pilbara are in planning for FY23-FY27, Telstra announced at its 2023 Investor Day presentation today.

Telstra also confirmed funding for the Pilbara extension and the Intercity Fibre and Viasat space projects would be at the top of the previously announced $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion envelope between FY23-27.

The Pilbara expansion will include 165 kilometres of new fibre build for use by Telstra customers to connect additional mining sites.

“With over $180 billion of investment coming from mining, oil and gas, clean energy and other sectors, the Pilbara and north-west of Australia is set to see significant growth over the coming decade,” Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said.

“Telstra will invest to expand infrastructure in this region to capture growing demand and support customers, as well as uplift the resiliency of our network across key routes.”

The Intercity Fibre Project launched in March 2022 and more than 400km of cable has been laid so far.

Ms Brady said Intercity Fibre project would extend the existing 250,000km of fibre optic cable with thousands more kms of ultra-high capacity, ultra-low latency connections.

“We are also continuing to see strong demand from hyperscalers looking for higher capacity and more direct routes,” she said.

Telstra’s five new routes will include connecting Darwin from Adelaide with construction to start in 2025.

Ms Brady said the demand for connectivity continued to soar, with the announced investments to deliver digital infrastructure for the next generation.

“As the largest investor in digital infrastructure in Australia we are uniquely positioned to design and deliver this critical infrastructure, which will enable ultrafast connectivity between capital cities,” she said.

“This connectivity will build Australia’s fibre resiliency and support data centres that facilitate cloud and AI, remote working and education needs, health services, high-definition entertainment consumption and online gaming, and IoT use cases such as mining and agriculture.”