Sydney: Alphabet’s Google is set to connect Christmas Island to Darwin via a new subsea cable, a strategic project that aims to enhance Australia’s digital resilience and bolster connectivity in the Indian Ocean region.
Christmas Island, located 1,500 km (930 miles) west of Australia’s mainland and 350 km (215 miles) from Jakarta, holds a population of approximately 1,250. Despite its small size, its location is critical for regional connectivity. The announcement coincides with the ongoing upgrades to airfields in northern Australia, where U.S. Marines, joined by Japanese troops next year, are part of a strategic military partnership.
Brian Quigley, Google’s Vice President of Global Network Infrastructure, highlighted that the Bosun cable will directly link Darwin to Christmas Island. Additionally, another cable will connect Melbourne to Perth before extending to Christmas Island and Singapore, creating a comprehensive network across Australia’s east and west coasts.
Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland emphasized the strategic importance of these subsea cables, noting, “These new cable systems will not only expand and strengthen the resilience of Australia’s digital connectivity through new and diversified routes but also complement the Government’s efforts to ensure secure and reliable connectivity across the Pacific.”
The project involves prominent partners, including data center company NextDC, telecommunications group Vocus (backed by Macquarie), and Subco. Subco has previously developed a cable linking Perth to Oman with extensions to Diego Garcia and the Cocos Islands, where Australia is currently upgrading facilities to support defense surveillance.
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While 900 km (560 miles) apart, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are regarded as key Indian Ocean neighbors, integral to Australia’s maritime surveillance and defense in response to increasing submarine activity by China.
In addition to the Bosun cable, Google is spearheading a Pacific Islands network co-funded by the U.S., connecting Australia and the United States via hubs in Fiji and French Polynesia. These systems, when combined, will create the world’s largest submarine cable network, spanning 42,500 km of fiber optic infrastructure.
