Vocus Activates DJSC Subsea Cable Segment

By VanillaPlus
July 30, 2023

Vocus, Australia’s fibre and network solutions provider, switched on the international fibre-optic cable into Darwin, cementing Australia’s North as a new entry point for international data and establishing Darwin as a key digital hub for the Asia Pacific. The new [$100 million (€90.65 million)], 1,000km cable links Vocus’ existing North-West cable system which runs from Darwin to Port Hedland with Vocus’ Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) from Perth to Singapore.

Combined, these cables form the DJSC (Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable) system, a [$500 million (€453.25 million)] total investment stretching 7,700 kilometres between Darwin and Singapore – enabling low-latency connectivity between Australia’s North and Asia. The activation of the DJSC establishes Darwin and Port Hedland the fourth and fifth Australian entry points for international connectivity, after Sydney, Perth, and Maroochydore.

The DJSC is a key part of Vocus’ [$1 billion (€0.91 billion)] investment strategy, which also includes ‘Project Horizon’, a new 2,000km inland fibre route from Perth to Port Hedland. Project Horizon will connect with the DJSC in Port Hedland, establishing a redundant fibre path between Perth and Singapore through the Pilbara while bringing competitive fibre to Australia’s primary resources region.

Vocus chief executive officer Ellie Sweeney, says “Submarine cables are the superhighways of the global internet, carrying 97% of global internet traffic between major data centres. The DJSC system will deliver this high-capacity connectivity straight into the heart of Darwin, establishing Australia’s North as a new data hub for the Asia Pacific region.”

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