AARNet says Perth–Singapore cable repairs will run into mid November
AARNet has pushed back its restoration estimate for international traffic to Asia and Europe, with Indigo West repairs due to start on 25 October and ASC repairs on 3 November. Two subsea cables off Perth are affected, and customers are still seeing higher latency.
AARNet has revised its restoration timeline for the subsea cable faults off Perth, saying repairs on the two affected Perth–Singapore systems will finish in early to mid November. The update, posted on 22 October 2026, goes beyond the late-October estimate the research network had advised earlier the same day.
Repair of Indigo West is scheduled to begin on 25 October, with completion estimated for early November. Repair of the ASC system is scheduled to begin on 3 November, with completion estimated for mid November. AARNet said the timelines were provided by its cable partners.
Until then, AARNet customers may continue to see higher latency or degraded performance on international connectivity to Asia and Europe, because traffic is being carried over alternate paths. AARNet said services are expected to be restored progressively as each cable repair is completed. It said its engineers are monitoring and managing international traffic flows to limit the impact on customers. Institutions facing an urgent impact are asked to contact the AARNet NOC or their customer representative.
AARNet first flagged the problem on 14 October 2026, when it reported an ongoing international subsea cable fault and said it was working with cable and carrier partners to assess it and confirm restoration timelines. By its later update, fault locations were known and repair work was scheduled. The network said it would provide weekly updates until full restoration.
AARNet cautioned that restoration times remain subject to vessel availability, weather, permits and the complexity of subsea repair work.
Commentary published by Custommapposter on 21 and 22 October 2026 linked the Perth damage to wider concerns about cable security. It cited Dr David Brewster, a senior researcher at the National Security College, as saying Australia's subsea cables carry 99 per cent of the country's international communications. It also reported his view that the cables sit in a protected zone yet were still damaged, and that responsibility is split across several government departments. The commentary said Subco chief executive Bevan Slattery called for an urgent investigation. The AARNet notices do not give a cause for the faults.