Telstra extends network services leadership in Asia

Singapore – Monday
9 May, 2016 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.