08 January 2020

The new cable will directly connect Perth with the city of Muscat in Oman (pictured)

Australian subsea firm SUB.CO is to build a new express route between Australia and the Middle East. 

According to a company statement, the new cable will directly connect Perth with the city of Muscat in Oman. 

The Oman Australia Cable (OAC) will comprise a three-fibre pair system, with the option to upgrade to a four-pair system as required. There is also the option to extend the cable to the southern Omani city of Salalah and onwards to Djibouti on Africa’s Eastern coast. 

“I am delighted to be building a new, express route providing diversity and low latency between Australia and EMEA, while at the same time avoiding some of the challenges associated with building through the shallows of the Sunda Strait and busy South China Sea,” said Bevan Slattery, founder of SUB.CO. “For me, the Oman Australia Cable is the final piece of an important puzzle to improve Australia’s resiliency and recognises the growing importance of Oman in becoming the new ‘Cloud hub’ in EMEA.” 

Perth has also seen three new subsea cables land in the city to meet demand for capacity in the region. 

“OAC will be highly complementary to the recent submarine cables between Perth and Singapore as well as Indigo Central, which will be used to extend OAC to Australia’s cloud capital - Sydney” added Slattery. 

The Oman Australia Cable will begin construction before the end of 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2021.