Firmus, Subco to build first new Tasmanian sub-sea fibre link in 20 years
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The news: Firmus and submarine cable developer Subco have secured a landmark agreement to build a new submarine fibre-optic cable linking Tasmania to mainland Australia, expanding the state’s digital capacity and supporting next generation AI infrastructure.
The context: Under the agreement, Firmus will use the Bernacchi-1 cable to connect Tasmania to Subco’s Sydney-Melbourne-Adelaide-Perth subsea cable (SMAP) system between Sydney and Melbourne.
The company said Bernacchi-1 will be the first new fibre connection between Tasmania and mainland Australia in more than 20 years and is projected to provide more than 60 terabits per second of additional capacity, exceeding the combined capacity of all existing Bass Strait fibre cables.
Subco will build and operate the cable as part of its SMAP network, which is scheduled to be ready for service this month. The Tasmanian branch is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2027.
What they said: “We’re re-wiring Australia’s digital infrastructure to make Australia one of the world’s largest exporters of AI Tokens,” Firmus Co-CEO Tim Rosenfield said.
“Investing in the critical sub-sea connectivity infrastructure required for this task is another example of Firmus leadership as a full-stack AI Factory Platform company,” he added.
The source: Firmus media release
