The Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC) is a 4,600-km submarine cable system linking Perth, Australia and Singapore via Jakarta in Indonesia as well as Christmas Island, providing the first 100Gbps high-speed connection from Western Australia to South East Asia.
The ASC cable system consists of four fiber pairs, designed with 100*100Gpbs DWDM technology, for a total system capacity of 40Tbps initially, upgraded to 60Tbps in 2019. The ASC system is supplied by Alcatel Submarine Network (ASN).
The ASC project costs approximately US$170million. including US$130m to ASN, US$20m payment due on completion of the project to Ontario Teacher Pension Plan and approximately US$20m in civil works, operating costs & ancillary costs during the ASC build period.
The Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) project was launched by Nextgen Networks and Vocus jointly, based on a 50/50 joint venture.
In April 2017, Vocus Communications completed the acquisition of Nextgen Networks to own 100% of the ASC.
Indonesian telecommunications firm XL Axiata is the landing partner for ASC's landing in Jakarta and Christmas Island. Australia-Singapore Cable (Singapore) Pte Ltd owns a Facilites-Based Operations (FBO) license for ASC's Singapore landing. In Perth, Vocus lands the cable at Shenton Park Cable Landing Station (Shenton Park CLS, also known as Equinix PE2)
The ASC cable system wasready for service in September 2018.