SubCo plans 850-kilometre Sydney–Melbourne fibre route for June 2028
SubCo has unveiled SM-1, a greenfield terrestrial fibre route of 850 kilometres between Sydney and Melbourne, due in service in June 2028. Founder Bevan Slattery is also weighing a A$250 million cable ship.
Australian digital infrastructure company SubCo has announced SM-1, a new terrestrial fibre route linking Sydney and Melbourne. The route is 850 kilometres long, is being built on a greenfield basis and is scheduled to enter service in June 2028.
SubCo said SM-1 will deliver at least 96 fibre pairs between the two largest data centre markets in Australia. The company said it would also give domestic routes much-needed diversity on a new, independent path.
SubCo is part of the Soda Group, owned by entrepreneur Bevan Slattery. It owns the Oman Australia Cable submarine system and is currently developing several other domestic and international subsea cable systems around Australia.
ITNews first reported that Slattery told the AusNOG conference in Brisbane that Australia needs more seabed survey capacity and a vessel of its own able to lay and repair submarine cables. According to Slattery, SubCo could buy its own uncrewed surface vessel for survey work, and could also acquire a cable-laying ship. Australia currently has no such ship, and the company would want government funding to buy one.
Slattery said he had promised to decide by the end of the year whether to buy the vessel. If the decision were made by then, the ship could be built and delivered by the end of 2029. A cable ship could cost around A$250 million (about US$174 million).