The submarine cable linking Oman and Australia is ready for use
The project was first unveiled by Bevan Slattery in 2019 and was laid from Perth to Oman between July 2021 and April 2022. A cross-connection with the Indigo cable system gives Sub.co a route from Australia to Europe and the U.S. Founder Bevan Slattery announced the start-up via a post on LinkedIn. The specialist consultancy and investment firm focuses on assisting the development of submarine cable projects. The project linking the city of Barka in Oman to Perth in Australia is one of the most important submarine cable projects in history. As its creator said: "I am incredibly excited to achieve this milestone which can only be described as one of the most extraordinary and challenging moments I have seen in the industry".
The project's creator added that the Strait of Malacca is like the Suez Cloud Canal. He also pointed out that all cables leaving Western Australia follow a path through the Sunda Strait to land in Singapore.
"Huge thanks to the entire Sub.Co team, especially Lee, Carlos and Celia, who have been there from day 1 on this journey, and to Jason S and Tom, who have played a major role in getting the network up and running. One more month of testing and we approve commercial traffic!" he said. A key differentiator for the cable is its route. When the cable landed in Perth in July 2021, Slattery said, "All submarine cables connecting Europe/Middle East to Asia pass through a single 100-mile stretch of water in the Strait of Malacca, which is also one of the most earthquake-prone, most active shipping areas and most heavily fished in the world."
Currently, more than 95% of Australia's international connectivity is provided by submarine cables, and while the number of cables has increased to provide additional capacity, they often follow similar routes and are vulnerable to the same single points of failure. Once active, OAC will become the only submarine cable to bypass the "notorious" Strait of Malacca and will be the first express submarine cable from Australia to EMEA, improving connectivity and resilience between the regions. The company also thanked the teams working hard behind the project along with Sub.Co, the key supplier, and Omantel, the landing partner.
The Oman-Australia Cable (OAC), plans for which were first unveiled in October 2019, will be the only express cable linking mainland Australia and the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. It promises to offer secure, diverse and low-latency connectivity between the two continents. Such is its capacity that its 36 terabyte capacity is like sending millions of movies simultaneously. In announcing its decision to install the cable in the Sultanate of Oman, Sub.co cited the country's continued success in attracting investment from data centre, network and cloud providers.
Currently, around 15 submarine cables terminate on the country's shores, underlining Muscat's importance as a key hub for the EMEA region and a gateway between Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In addition to being a leading telecommunications player in the region, Omantel is also involved in a substantial portfolio of international submarine cable systems.
