Investing in the network of tomorrow, today
At the heart of our network is the intercity fibre project, a $1.6bn investment, which has seen more than 1400 kilometres of new fibre constructed. This includes both the express path and the foundation path.
The express path is specifically designed for high-speed connectivity between major cities – enabling people and businesses to do more, faster.
During a recent simulated network trial, we achieved 83.6 terabits of capacity. This is around 10 times faster than we currently achieve on our existing network. To place that into perspective, this capacity would allow us to simultaneously watch 3.34 million 4K versions of the Barbie movie on a single cable pair!
In contrast, the foundation path will provide connectivity to regions across the country. Our goal with this path is to ensure no community is left behind. Reliable internet access for all is essential for continued growth and development in Australia.
Fibre, however, is just one element of our investment. We are also prioritising our amplification shelters. These are constructed in a modular fashion, enabling pre-construction at various points along the path. Furthermore, we provide preconfigured racks, enabling customers to seamlessly integrate their equipment. We have incorporated security features such as cameras within and around the shelters and the racks.
Wavelength, Direct Spectrum, and intercity dark fibre
To bring our intercity project to life, we’re offering a range of solutions to meet your connectivity needs.
First, we are offering intercity dark fibre on both the express and the foundation paths. In this scenario, you provide your own amplification and DWDM equipment, while we provide the fibre pair and colocation racks. When it comes to bandwidth, you can run your network at 55 Tbps and beyond, depending on your equipment provider and route. This solution is ideal for if you’re able to anticipate future bandwidth needs and would like to invest in the infrastructure today.
However, not all customers require that level of bandwidth. Nor do they have the desire to manage and store that equipment. If you are in this cohort, we can provide you with a Direct Spectrum service, which is where you buy a portion of the dark fibre pair. This means we provide the amplification equipment, and you provide the modem and terminal on either end. This approach is common in subsea cable networks, yet it has never been done terrestrially in Australia. We’re excited to bring this offering to you.
Finally, we are also offering a fully managed service around wavelength. This covers 100Gbps and 400Gbps services. The new network will enable us to increase bandwidths on Wavelength services in the future, giving you more options for setting up your network.
More ways to use our network
Outside of the intercity routes, you can leverage our extensive network footprint and capabilities in a variety of different ways.
One exciting use case is our non-premise dark fibre solution. This is where we provide a dark fibre pair to you, but handing off in a location that is not a building. Instead, it is in the Telstra pit for you to pick up and pull into your network. The non premise dark fibre solution means you can use the Telstra backbone network to get close to the places you want to deliver your service without having to build yourself. This ultimately provides you with greater flexibility to provide the services you want.
Meeting increasing data demands
Our investment into the fibre network is about enabling you to create a network that’s fit for your future. Increasing data demands mean we need to offer a broad range of services and solutions to suit all requirements – from dark fibre to Telstra-managed services – we have the capabilities and willingness to help grow and shape the success of your business.