Jakarta, Singapore, Sydney, 6th April 2017 – AARNet, Google, Indosat Ooredoo, Singtel, SubPartners, and Telstra today announced they have entered into an agreement with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build a new international subsea cable system that will connect Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

Once completed, the INDIGO cable system (previously known as APX West & Central) will strengthen links between Australia and the fast-growing South East Asian markets, providing lower latency and enhanced reliability. Using today’s coherent optical technology, each of the two-fibre pairs will have a minimum capacity of 18 terabits per second, with the option to increase this capacity in the future.

The system will use a two-fibre pair ‘open cable’ design with spectrum sharing technology. Consortium members will have spectrum ownership providing the ability to independently take advantage of technology advancements and future upgrades as required.

The INDIGO cable system will span approximately 9000 km and connect Singapore and Perth, and onwards to Sydney. Within the system, there will be two additional fibre pairs connecting Singapore and Jakarta via a branching unit. The new cable will land in existing facilities in Singapore, Australia, and Indonesia.

Telstra’s Group Managing Director of Global Services and International David Burns said: “With internet data consumption growing by 70 per cent in Asia last year alone these sorts of investments in international networks are critical for meeting the needs of connected consumers and businesses. This will be an important piece of technology infrastructure connecting South East Asia and Australia, and follows a number of recent network enhancements Telstra has undertaken to meet growing demand for data and better connectivity from our customers across the Asia Pacific region, he said.”

“This strategic alliance is a great leap forward for Australian Research and Education,” said Chris Hancock, AARNet’s CEO. “It will provide critical infrastructure for meeting the future growth in collaborative research and transnational education between Australia and our Asian partners.”

“We are committed to provide robust digital and telecommunications access to Indonesians. INDIGO’s consortium is a strategic and crucial partnership for Indosat Ooredoo that will help provide the digital services needed by Indonesian society. Together, we will enable world-class data connectivity and internet access in line with our vision as Indonesia’s leading digital telco. High-speed network infrastructure availability, both into and out of Indonesia, is important for business and personal consumers in Indonesia to be able to connect to global content. We are confident this strong partnership with the consortium will deliver a reliable alternative for ever-growing data traffic,” said Alexander Rusli, President Director and CEO Indosat Ooredoo.

Ooi Seng Keat, Vice President, Carrier Services, Group Enterprise at Singtel said, “The construction of INDIGO is timely to meet the rising demand for high-speed broadband between Asia and Australia. This cable system complements our global connectivity that links Asia, the US, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. INDIGO will be a new data superhighway that facilitates Singtel and our subsidiary Optus to catalyse the development of digital economies across the regions.”

“The delivery of secure, reliable and high-speed connectivity between Singapore and Sydney has been the core focus of SubPartners since its inception,” said Bevan Slattery, CEO of SubPartners. “We are delighted to be a part of the INDIGO cable system to finally realise this significant infrastructure project, and provide Australia with a new diverse international route into South East Asia.”

ASN will construct the cable, which is expected to be completed by mid-2019.

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AARNet media contact: Jane Gifford, media@aarnet.edu.au, +61 2 9779 6960

Indosat media contact: Deva Rachman, publicrelations@indosatooredoo.com, +62 85 5989 9000

Singtel media contact: Sonny Phua, sonnyphua@singtel.com, +65 6838 6527

SubPartners media contact: Wendy Hill (Sapphire Communications), wendy@sapphirecommunications.com.au, +61 427 173 203

Telstra media contact: Michael Zappone, michael.zappone@team.telstra.com, +61 438 004 959

About AARNet

Australia’s Academic and Research Network (AARNet) provides high capacity national and international telecommunications infrastructure and collaboration services for the nation’s research and education sector, including universities, health and other research organisations, schools, vocational training providers and cultural institutions. AARNet serves over one million end users who access the network for teaching, learning and research. For more information, visit www.aarnet.edu.au.

About Indosat Ooredoo

Indosat Ooredoo (IDX:ISAT), member of Ooredoo Group, is building Indonesia’s leading digital telco, enabling access and greater connectivity for everybody and every business. Focusing on human growth, Indosat Ooredoo aspires to enrich the lives of Indonesians in the digital world and proactively offer solutions to fulfill their needs. The company reported 85.7 million mobile customers as end of year 2016 and has recorded an increase of 147% in data usage compared to last year. Supported by more than 4,000 employees, Indosat Ooredoo has recorded an increase revenue of 9% compared to last year. Indosat Ooredoo was recognised in the Most Innovative Company of the Year category in the 2015 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards. For more information, visit http://www.indosatooredoo.com

About Singtel

Singtel is Asia’s leading communications and ICT solutions group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 640 million mobile customers in 23 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 362 cities. For more information, visit www.singtel.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews.

Optus is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singtel Group and services over ten million customers each day. It provides a broad range of communications services including mobile, telephony, business network services, internet and satellite services and subscription television. For more information, please visit www.optus.com.au.

About SubPartners

SubPartners is a dynamic company committed to delivering significant telecommunications infrastructure projects through an innovative model of trusted relationships and partnerships. Founded by some of the industries most experienced and trusted telecommunications entrepreneurs, SubPartners has the relationships, experience and access to funding necessary to take major telecommunications infrastructure projects from concept to reality. For more information visit www.subpartners.net.

About Telstra

Telstra is a leading telecommunications and technology company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe. For more information visit www.telstra.com.