Australian telecoms infrastructure builder Fibre Expressway (FEPL) last week unveiled the details of Project Koete, a first-of-its-kind US$1.5 billion 5G-enabled technology ecosystem in Western Australia and Northern Territory.
Project Koete will provide vital data and internet connectivity domestically between Perth and Darwin, while directly connecting the cities and territories to international business hubs in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and beyond in Asia Pacific and worldwide. It will be a major drawcard for attracting multinational businesses to the region and will boost digital investment, particularly from the natural resources, finance, and cloud computing industries.
The project includes a 10,000-kilometre, carrier-neutral, high-speed low-latency subsea cable connecting with three data centre hubs in Perth, Darwin and Dampier, and seven cable landing stations (CLS) between Perth and Darwin. The cable will be 5G enabled with the inclusion of 16 fibre pairs.
Project Koete will offer less than half of the latency in connection to Asia compared with a Sydney-to-Singapore connection, according to FEPL Group Managing Director Peter Bannister.
Gary Kennedy, FEPL’s onboarding CEO
This will be the most significant technological investment Western Australia and the Northern Territory have ever seen,” said . As the economy increasingly digitises, this investment signals to Australia, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world that this region is ready to become a digital hub.
