Cable Name: | Australia Singapore Cable |
Cable Type: | Fibre-optic |
State: | Active |
Construction Beginning: | 2018 |
Construction Finished: | 2018 |
First Traffic: | September 2018 |
Design Capacity: | 60 Tbit/s |
Lit Capacity: | 2.5 Tbit/s (total) |
Built By: | Alcatel Submarine Networks |
Landings: | 4 |
Owner: | Vocus Group |
The Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) is a 4,600 km fibre-optic submarine communications cable that entered service in September 2018, linking Australia and Singapore via Christmas Island and Indonesia. ASC is owned and operated by Vocus Communications and interconnects with the Vocus Australian domestic optical fibre network at the Australian landing site in Perth. The ASC consists of four fibre pairs and, at launch, had a total design capacity of 40 terabits per second.[1]
In 2019 the cable was upgraded to a total design capacity of 60 terabits per second.[2]
On 1 August 2021, the cable was damaged after a ship operated by Maersk caught a portion of the cable with its anchor, disrupting Perth operations. The captain of the ship was detained by the Australian Federal Police.[3] Normal operations resumed by 13 August after repairs were made.[4]