A private Australian submarine cable developer is constructing a new submarine cable between Perth - a growing data center hub - and Singapore.

The four-fiber pair cable system set up by ASSC-1 Communications will be able to handle 6.4 terabits per second and will cover a distance of 4,600km, with one fiber pair communicating between Perth, Jakarta in Indonesia and Singapore with connections to Europe.

It will eventually cater to 100Gbps but the low latency system will initially offer 40Gbps, according to ASSC-1 CEO James Chen.

Work is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2012 with completion planned for 2013.

“ASSC-1 will dramatically increase the capacity for internet and data traffic between Australia, particularly the west coast, Asia and Europe,” Chen said.

“We expect it to take up excess demand from the only existing cable on this route, which is the ageing SEAMEWE3 system.”

Chen said it will also provide more diversity for traffic between the locations and the US.

Telstra International has already signed up to purchase one of the four-fiber pairs and will provide landing party services in Perth.

Matrix Cable Systems is providing the Jakarta landing point.

Huawei Marine Networks is supplying the ASSC-1 system.

Telstra International SVP of global carrier sales Jim Clarke said Telstra has seen increasing demand for carriers and enterprises wanting to connect to the internet and gain from greater diversity of routes.   

The company is one of the major players for fixed and mobile services in Australia. It is also heavily involved in the Australian National. Broadband Network being rolled out across the country, assisting in its rollout.

Perth itself is home to a number of colocation and cloud players benefiting from Western Australia’s mining industry and a growing number of companies looking to do business with Asia from the state. Fujitasu, Red Cloud, Perth IX and aCure are just a few of the companies with a presence in Perth.