What key needs are international carriers looking to support with their networks today?
We see an increasing need for really solid, reliable high-speed connectivity. We’ve seen this growth with the wave of cloud adoption over the past 10 years, followed by the next step towards AI training and inference models. Those use cases put more dependency on having secure, high-quality networks, and we’re in a new wave of investments by carriers, digital infrastructure providers and hyperscalers.
At Telstra International, we’re privileged to have a significant portfolio of assets in Asia-Pacific to capitalise on this next growth phase. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of talk about AI as the use case that’s driving demand, but we’re also applying AI and machine-learning [ML] to how we run our networks.
How is the pace of AI development affecting network deployments?
The digital infrastructure needed to support AI is changing the topology of how networks are built, and the industry is looking at whether very high-megawatt data centres are needed in different locations to where they’ve been before.
At Telstra International, we have the opportunity to provide the subsea infrastructure, cable landing stations and terrestrial fibre to support this new growth, as well as satellite connectivity where needed. We see the strong relationship we’ve developed with the hyperscalers as important to being part of that and acting as a key carrier partner to them, as well as to other carriers and enterprises.
We also have decades-long experience of operating in Asia, where we have cable landing stations and licences, and know how to navigate markets and permit processes.
Can you explain the concept of this highly autonomous network that you’re building and how it will support changing needs?
Rolling out new systems is a journey for the future, meaning we have a long-term strategy for the network to 2030 and beyond. This will result in a zero-touch network that automatically reroutes and reprovisions traffic, and manages network maintenance and outages.
Aided by AI and ML, the network will significantly improve operational efficiency and customer experience, while seeing our subsea infrastructure upgraded to over 800Tbps of lit capacity. A digital twin of the network will also provide unprecedented insight into its performance and aid its management.
As part of the upgrade, we’re partnering with Ciena on its Blue Planet product, which will support the transformation with intelligent automation of data and services. We’re also cloudifying our infrastructure layer with Infinera, helping us pre-deploy capacity across the network and then turn it on fast on an ‘as-needed’ basis.
Can you explain more about what the AI, ML and other automated capabilities will provide for customers?
Our highly autonomous network will have the ability to detect when we have underutilised routes, dynamically turning capacity up and down in line with that. It will be able to observe environmental factors and respond to vulnerabilities like changing temperatures, while moving traffic from one route to another when needed. That will mean fewer outages and higher uptimes.
As well as aiding efficiency and general network maintenance, this is important in the context of issues reported with subsea cables globally in recent years, whereby some have been cut or affected by tectonic activity.
Furthermore, AI and ML will boost security by driving observation of what’s happening on our network. The breadth of our network, along with our knowledge and experience, gives us the ability to do all this more effectively.
Where do you see the fastest future growth in the markets where Telstra International operates?
Singapore continues to be a hotly demanded destination, and there’s also a lot going on in markets like Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. But we’re seeing growth all across Asia, and announcements on where hyperscalers are building data centres reflect where that is happening.
With increasing traffic and demand on Pacific subsea cable routes, Australia is also getting closer and closer to Asia, redefining the global connectivity map. For serving today’s low-cost green power needs there, we’re ideally positioned to leverage the infrastructure we have, our other terrestrial and subsea assets, and our complementary satellite services.
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