Southern Cross Cable Network has launched a new submarine cable, the Southern Cross NEXT (SX NEXT) cable, which will connect Australasia to the US, and boost the capacity of New Zealand’s global connectivity.
In its press release statement, Southern Cross Cables also announced that it will begin the implementation and testing of 400 GbE services across the 15 840km network, which would pave the way for the company to introduce 400 GbE services between Sydney, Auckland, and Los Angeles.
Southern Cross Cables collaborated with telecommunications company Ciena to build the SX NEXT cable, leveraging on Ciena’s optical technology to integrate the new cable system within the broader Southern Cross ecosystem in a power-efficient manner. The completed SX NEXT cable, which cost 350 million USD, is the third route in the Southern Cross network eco-system between Australasia and the USA.
With the SX NEXT cable’s construction, the Southern Cross ecosystem now consists of three submarine cable routes that span more than 20 access points across 43 000km, supporting high capacity and low latency routes between Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tokelau, Kiribati, Hawaii, and the United States West Coast.
Craige Sloots, Marketing Director at Southern Cross Cable Network, observed that the cable would dramatically increase the volume of data which could be carried to and from New Zealand, meeting booming demand for Internet streaming services and 5G data connections.
The SX NEXT cable will carry an additional 72 Terabits of data per second, and boost the capacity of the ecosystem by 500%. In addition, the cable will also provide the first fibre-optic broadband connections to Tokelau and Kiribati.
Supporting Rising Demand for Hyperscale Bandwidth
Managing Director for Ciena Australia and New Zealand Matthew Vesperman expressed his confidence in the SX NEXT cable, and spoke on the increasing demand for effective and reliable cable services.
“With end-user digital applications continuing to proliferate, cable operators like Southern Cross need adaptive networks that can tackle ever-growing capacity demands yet remain reliable across long distances.”
Laurie Miller, President and CEO of Southern Cross Cable Network, said that “the Southern Cross NEXT cable system is up and running, and the new technology and capability will support the rising demand for hyperscale bandwidth driven by cloud adoption and digitisation along with changing needs of our customers and the industry.”
He also affirmed the SX NEXT’s cable for the company’s growth and expansion plans. “As part of our future strategy, not only is NEXT the first of the replacement cables for our existing systems when they retire in 2030, it also completes a trifecta for us.”
Southern Cross is currently the provider of the lowest latency routes between Sydney and Auckland, along with Auckland to Los Angeles, and will now add the lowest latency route between Sydney and Los Angeles to Southern Cross Cables Limited’s portfolio.
“Connectivity & Innovation” will be a key awards category and topic of conversation at the W.Media Asia Pacific Cloud & Datacenter Awards programme, where enterprise users and industry experts will come together to share their insights and opinions on low latency connectivity and innovation in data centres. If you are interested in nominating or sponsoring, visit our Awards Page for more information. Nominations are open until 31st July.
