Investing in Australia’s Connectivity and Digital Economy
Over the last three years, Google has invested US$47 billion (approx. A$67.8 billion) in CAPEX to improve our infrastructure globally. Today we’re happy to announce that the INDIGO cable system, which connects Sydney, Perth and Singapore, is ready for service!
Developed in partnership with AARnet, Indosat, Singtel, SubPartners and Telstra, INDIGO will strengthen connectivity between Australia and Southeast Asia, boosting business capabilities within the region. It will enable better internet connectivity, meaning faster and more reliable services for all of our users.
When combined with our Cloud Regions in Sydney and Singapore, INDIGO will play a major role in supporting Google Cloud customers in Asia Pacific. We launched our Sydney Cloud Region in 2017, at the time our fourth region in Asia Pacific.
Today, we have grown our Asia Pacific cloud infrastructure to seven regions, with two more to come in Seoul and Jakarta within the first half of 2020. Australia’s demand for digital connectivity continues to grow rapidly following a boom in digital trade. According to a report by the Export Council of Australia and the Hinrich Foundation, digital trade enables A$43 billion of economic value in the domestic economy.
Google is investing and expanding its infrastructure to help Australia realise this potential and deliver on the current and future needs of its users and customers nationwide.
The new cable spans 9,200 kilometers, or the same length as 92,000 rugby fields! It’s the first subsea cable across the Great Australian Bight with a design capacity of around 36 terabits per second (Tbps).
Next up - JGA-South!
We aren’t stopping here. The JGA consortium cable is under installation to be ready for service by Q1 2020. When it is, it will connect, Guam and Australia through 7,080 kilometres of undersea fiber optic cable system.
Stay tuned for more in the coming months on JGA-South and how we’re connecting Australia to the growing Internet ecosystem across Asia Pacific!
