Internet service provider AARNet has signed an agreement to take over operations on the Basslink cable connecting Victoria, Australia, and Tasmania.
As reported by ITnews, the company will assume control from the current Basslink owner and operator, APA Group, from July.
APA will continue to control the electricity connector, but will hand over its fiber communications cable to AARNet.
APA Group said in a statement that AARNet will “upgrade the network and ensure the ongoing provision of capacity for the research and education sector and the broader telecommunications market in Tasmania.”
AARNet will also have the option to increase network capacity to respond to future potential growth in demand. The company mainly provides Internet services to Australian universities and researchers.
The 298-km Basslink cable traverses the Bass Strait and lands at Four Mile Bluff in Tasmania and McGaurans Beach in Victoria, Australia.
APA Group is an Australian natural gas and electricity company. It is Australia’s largest natural gas infrastructure company.
The SMAP cable was initially planned to connect Tasmania to mainland Australia. However, owner and co-CEO of SubCo Bevan Slattery announced in August last year that the cable would no longer land in Tasmania.
