Under the terms of the partnership, STL will provide optical fibre cables for Vocus' inter capital network extension program and builds on the existing relationship between the two, where STL provided its optical networking solutions, Opticonn, for Vocus' brownfield network build projects.
"Project Horizon is Vocus' largest fibre infrastructure project and will provide the first competitive fibre through Australia's resources region," said Kevin Russell, Group CEO, Vocus Group.,
"The network has been designed with transmission capacity of 38 Terabits per second per fibre pair. STL's optical solutions provide an efficient path for Vocus to upgrade and support higher capacity wavelengths at lower incremental costs and will play an important role in delivering high-speed and low-latency fibre infrastructure in Australia."
Project Horizon will see Vocus deploy a fibre backbone between Perth and Port Hedland and is the first major infrastructure project under Vocus' previously announced $1 billion investment program.
Once complete, Project Horizon will complement Vocus' national fibre backbone which connects all Australian mainland capitals. Horizon will also interconnect with two high-capacity subsea cables in Port Hedland, positioning Australia's north as a new hub for domestic and international data.
"We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Vocus. STL is working closely with network creators in Australia to help build advanced optical networks," added Paul Atkinson, CEO, optical networking business, STL.
"We are confident that, with our purpose-engineered optical networking solutions, we will support Vocus in this rollout and help them deliver high speed, high-capacity networks for the country."
STL will support Vocus' network rollout with a best-in-class fibre design, combined with high-tensile and crush strength cable technology. The cables have a design life of more than 30 years, giving Project Horizon longevity into 2050s even in harsh environmental conditions.
