Australian AI infrastructure developer Firmus Technologies and submarine cable operator SUBCO have announced plans to build a new subsea fibre connection between Tasmania and mainland Australia, marking the state’s first new undersea telecommunications link in more than two decades. The new cable, known as Bernacchi-1, will connect Tasmania into SUBCO’s SMAP cable system and deliver more than 60 Tbps of additional capacity on day one – more than all existing Bass Strait fibre cables combined, according to the companies.
Underwritten by Firmus and built and operated by SUBCO, the project is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2027 and forms part of a broader push to support Australia’s growing AI and digital infrastructure requirements. The cable will branch into the SMAP network, which connects Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, providing Tasmania with dual pathways to the mainland. In addition to a route to Melbourne, Bernacchi-1 will provide Tasmania with a direct connection to Sydney for the first time, giving the state more direct access to the landing point for most of Australia’s international subsea cable systems.
The companies said the project will improve resilience, expand connectivity options for businesses and consumers, and strengthen Tasmania’s position within Australia’s digital economy.
Firmus ties connectivity investment to AI ambitions
The announcement represents an unusual move for an AI infrastructure company, with Firmus directly underwriting a major telecommunications project as part of its wider Project Southgate strategy – similar to how hyperscalers invest in undersea cable infrastructure. Project Southgate is Firmus’s planned national rollout of AI factories across Australia, designed to support sovereign AI infrastructure and large-scale compute deployments. The company has recently secured significant investment and has been named among the early adopters of Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI architecture.
Tim Rosenfield, co-CEO of Firmus Technologies, said the cable demonstrates how AI infrastructure development is extending beyond data centres and into the broader digital ecosystem. “Bernacchi-1 is an example of the dividend for Australia and regional communities of the investment Firmus is making in our Australia-wide AI Factory buildout, Project Southgate,” he said. “We’re re-wiring Australia’s digital infrastructure to make Australia one of the world’s largest exporters of AI Tokens.
He added: “Investing in the critical sub-sea connectivity infrastructure required for this task is another example of Firmus leadership as a full-stack AI Factory Platform company.”
The company has increasingly positioned itself around a vertically integrated approach to AI infrastructure, spanning compute, energy and connectivity. Earlier this year, Firmus outlined plans for a “Model-to-Grid” software platform designed to coordinate AI workloads with electricity grid conditions in real time, as it seeks to align large-scale AI infrastructure with energy availability.
New route adds resilience and capacity
For SUBCO, the project expands a portfolio that already includes the Indigo West, Indigo Central and Oman Australia Cable systems, as well as the SMAP transcontinental network and the planned APX East cable linking Australia and the United States. Bevan Slattery, founder and co-CEO of SUBCO, said the project addresses a long-standing need for greater connectivity diversity between Tasmania and the mainland. “I’ve been trying to build a new fibre route between Tasmania and the mainland for over a decade to bring much needed diversity, resiliency and cheaper connectivity to Australia and the world,” he said.
“Bernacchi-1 for me is a great example of how Australia can leverage AI to create new sovereign owned infrastructure capability for the benefit of the nation as a whole and this simply would not have happened without Firmus’ significant investment and underwriting the long-term operations,” he added.
The cable is named after Louis Bernacchi, the Tasmanian-raised physicist and Antarctic explorer who became the first Tasmanian and first Australian to overwinter in Antarctica, conducting some of the earliest sustained scientific observations on the continent.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff welcomed the investment, describing it as an important addition to the state’s digital infrastructure. “This significant private investment will strengthen Tasmania’s digital future, boosting capacity, resilience and connectivity,” he said. “The AI revolution is here and Tasmania is in a strong position to benefit from the jobs and infrastructure being delivered as part of this change.”