SubCo has upgraded the planned capacity of its upcoming SMAP subsea cable system in Australia.

The cable, first announced by SubCo in 2023, is set to be operational in Q1 2026 and connect Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.

The company said this week it has increased the fiber capacity of the 5,000km cable system.

Originally designed as a 12-fiber pair system, SMAP has been upgraded to a 16-fiber pair system, increasing the total system capacity by 33 percent.

Bevan Slattery, owner and co-CEO of SubCo, said: “This increased investment in capacity is to ensure we are able to support Australia’s digital infrastructure needs both now and in the future. AI and Cloud are driving the accelerating expansion of hyperscale data centers throughout the region, which is driving an increase in demand for hyperscale connectivity.”

“This upgrade will provide an additional 100Tbps between Melbourne and Perth and 120Tbps between Sydney and Melbourne.”

The company said on its blog that the SMAP cable will be the first to utilize spatial division multiplexing technology to increase the total bandwidth and enhance the system’s resilience to disruptions and capacity constraints.

SubCo also said it has deployed an underwater camera to monitor the alignment of the cable in shallow water in order to minimize interactions with localized seagrass.

SubCo, part of Slattery’s Soda Group, also owns the Oman Australia Cable and owns capacity on the Indigo subsea cables.

First announced in 2020 and launched last year, the 10,000km OAC cable runs from Perth in Australia to Muscat (and later Salalah) in Oman, and features a secret spur to a US Naval base on Diego Garcia island. Launched in 2019, the 4,850km Indigo Central cable connects Sydney to Perth, while the Indigo West branch connects Perth to Singapore.

Earlier this week, BW Digital and Telin partnered on the Hawaiki Nui subsea system, connecting Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore.