Telstra today announced a series of new and enhanced global network services that offer more choice for customers and further reinforce Telstra’s network leadership position in the Asia Pacific region.

Telstra’s Executive Director International Operations and Services, Darrin Webb, said the new services were driven by the explosion in data consumption among consumers and businesses, which has created a strong demand for international connectivity.

“We already own and operate the largest intra-Asia subsea network, representing around 30 per cent of total active capacity. These enhancements further extend our capacity and will support the provision of our leading technologies, such as Telstra’s PEN software-defined networking and cloud, security and unified communications services,” Mr Webb said.

The new network solutions include:

• The Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) cable system interconnecting Telstra’s leading networks in South East Asia and North Asia through to India and the Middle East
• Opening up another route connecting Asia and the Americas on the FASTER cable system
• Extending the operating life of Asia's largest privately owned submarine cable networks (EAC and C2C) by seven years till at least 2035
• Introducing the shortest and lowest latency path between Taipei and Hong Kong which we are creating by building a new overland fibre route in Taiwan that will bypass the natural disaster prone Luzon Strait
• A new highly resilient fibre ring network in South Korea which fully interconnects Telstra’s points of presence (PoPs) and cable landing stations in the country to open up new options and offers improved network resilience both within Korea and for connecting Korea with the world.

This is in addition to recent announcements of work commencing on the new Trans-Tasman (TGA) cable connecting Australia and New Zealand, where Telstra is one of the consortium partners, and the recent signing of a MOU with several parties to explore a new APX-West cable connecting Singapore with Perth in Western Australia.

BBG cable system
The BBG system is a new submarine cable consisting of three fibre pairs stretching 8,000 km and connecting Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. With access to the BBG cable, Telstra can now offer customers direct connectivity between Asia and the Middle East and then onward to Europe when combined with the Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable.

“BBG is designed to provide highly upgradable facilities by adopting the state-of-the-art 100Gbps technology, meaning our customers can access one of the fastest routes available between Singapore and the Middle East,” Mr Webb said.

FASTER cable system
Telstra has secured capacity on the new trans-pacific FASTER cable system connecting Japan and neighbouring cable systems with major hubs on the west coast of the United States covering the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle areas. The system, which is approximately 10,000 km in length, features six fibre pairs and utilises 100Gbps wave technology.

“The FASTER cable system provides a high-capacity route from Japan to the United States and supports further development of Telstra new PoP capabilities in Seattle, which enables us to provide flexible, high-capacity services between these regions using Telstra’s software defined networking solution,” Mr Webb said.

EAC-C2C system
Telstra is investing in enhancing the EAC-C2C system to increase capacity and extend the life of this important cable until at least 2035. This investment will provide more certainty and improved reliability for customers on this cable, which at currently more than 36,000 km connecting Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore is the largest privately owned and operated cable in Asia.

New Taiwan overland fibre
Telstra’s new Taiwan overland fibre route offers a unique path that can be bundled with Telstra’s existing submarine cable networks in and out of Taiwan. This route offers an alternative to cables running through the Luzon Strait, which is one of the most widely used areas connecting North Asia and the West Coast of the United States that often experiences natural disasters causing cable cuts and service disruptions.

“This new dual fibre network is enabled as part of Telstra’s Optical Transport Network. It will introduce the shortest and fastest route available in the market between Taipei, Kaoshiung and Hong Kong with lower risk of disruption than services passing through the Luzon Strait,” said Mr Webb.

New ring topology network in Korea
Telstra’s new, more resilient fibre ring network interconnects the PoPs and cable stations in South Korea and creates a market-leading eight diverse ways to connect into and out of South Korea, all of which are 100G-enabled. This enhancement will provide customers with greater redundancy and network resiliency, as well as greater range of peers and cable connectivity to more submarine cables.