The global arm of leading telecommunications and technology company Telstra, Telstra International and Trans Pacific Networks (TPN) have partnered on the Echo cable, the first subsea cable to directly connect the US to Singapore, creating a new route and delivering vital connectivity in the Trans-Pacific.

Echo’s subsea system is a unique express route connecting California, Jakarta, Singapore, and Guam. The system creates a new path and offers low latency, high-speed, resilient network infrastructure connecting South Asia to the US.

The first Echo segments (Guam-US) will launch in mid-2024, with the remaining segments in 2025. Telstra will become TPN’s operating partner to provide secure, long-term stability on an efficient route. In addition, Telstra will be delivering cable landing station services for Echo in Singapore and the Network Operations Centre services. XL Axiata is landing the cable in Indonesia and our partner for delivering services into Indonesia.

Telstra International CEO said the geographical area the new cable would be built in was one of the more challenging regions globally in terms of regulation as well as subsea cable cuts.

“Our subsea network scale makes Telstra International uniquely placed to successfully navigate the complexity of these environments to ensure the stability of the world’s digital connectivity,” said CEO Telstra International Roary Stasko.

In the Trans-Pacific, demand for bandwidth is growing at one of the fastest rates in the world, with forecasts showing it will increase by 39 per cent year on year until 2029. As our lives become increasingly digital and new technologies like AI, IoT and cloud computing continue to evolve, bandwidth plays a critical role in supporting these and is set to soar further as the need for reliable, low latency connectivity grows to serve businesses and consumers.

“Trans Pacific Networks is thrilled to partner with industry leader Telstra to expand telecommunication access between the US and Asia.  To be partially funded by the US International Development Finance Corporation, the Echo subsea cable system will be a critical element of the Indo-Pacific’s digital infrastructure, ultimately strengthening networks and increasing capacity while reducing internet costs in the region,” said CFO TPN Aaron Knapik.

“The Trans-Pacific is a critical connection point to reach the US, and the geography of these regions means they will rely on new submarine cable routes like Echo for international connectivity. We’re delighted to partner with TPN to launch capacity via Echo which will significantly enhance the vital data demands of people and businesses and provide much needed diversity, resiliency and reliability which has become critical to keep our everyday lives connected.

“We’re accelerating growth in our international digital infrastructure with investments in subsea fibre capacity on unique, diverse routes – helping to move more traffic around the world and strengthening connections from Asia to the US. Echo’s cable system has the ability to allow other countries to take advantage of its redundancy. In addition, we’ve recently added 3Tbps of capacity through the SEA-US cable connecting US mainland to Hawaii, Guam and Philippines which complements our existing Trans-Pacific cables like AAG, UNITY, FASTER, NCP and JUPITER,” Roary said.