Optus switches on 100Gbps international service
Optus has activated its first international 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) service on the Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN), with the new service being used by a US-based partner, according to Optus.
The SCCN connects Australia to the United States' west coast via New Zealand, Fiji, and Hawaii.
John Castro, Optus Wholesale head of marketing and strategy, said that using its 100Gbps service for the first time reflects the increasing usage of customers that are consuming more cloud and video services from the web, as well as the need for international bandwidth to service that appetite.
"Optus has invested significantly in international capacity to fulfil market demand for connectivity, particularly across to the US. We anticipate this will be the first of many 100Gbps deals on the Trans-Pacific route," he said.
Last week, Optus upgraded its city-connecting fibre network to 100Gbps, bringing faster speeds and greater capacity for wholesale customers in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Cairns.
In partnership with telco equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent, Optus' wholesale optical network provides business and government customers with high-speed connectivity, and has been upgraded between Perth, Western Australia; and Cairns, Queensland.
Southern Cross CEO Anthony Briscoe added that helping Optus turn on this 100Gbps service signalled Southern Cross' potential to reach capacity of over 14Tbps.
Last year, Southern Cross announced that it had plans to provide an additional 500Gbps on each of its cables by mid-2014, which would have allowed it to boast 3.6Tbps of lit capacity, and take the 30,000km network to a potential capacity of 12Tbps.