Subsea cable startup SubPartners has engaged TE Subcom to build the APX-West, a planned 4,700km cable system linking Australia with Singapore.
The companies yesterday announced they have signed a system supply contract for the cable project.
The APX-West will run between Perth in Australia and Changi North in Singapore, with branches to Indonesia and to Christmas Island.
It has an initial design capacity of 32Tbps, and is scheduled to be ready for service by the second quarter of 2015.
SubPartners CEO Bevan Slattery said the company has an innovative business model for the cable project.
“Our model of selling spectrum directly to major telecommunications and content providers gives the flexibility and benefits of infrastructure ownership without the significant capital investment required of a single entity in undertaking such a project,” he said.
The company has already signed MoUs covering optical spectrum sharing with regional operators including Australian incumbent Telstra.
Slattery has experience with subsea cables. He was the founder of Australian internet exchange and backhaul operator PIPE Networks, which built the 6,900km PPC-1 cable system. Slattery left PIPE Networks in 2010 after it was acquired by TPG Telecom.