In attendance were senior representatives from Telstra Infra Co, BW Digital, Vocus, Inligo Networks and DCI Data Centres.
The two-day event brought industry leaders together in the Territory to develop NT’s positioning as Australia’s next strategic digital hub, and to facilitate collaborations between major digital investors to help grow the local economy.
During the Territory Government awarded Major Project Status to Inligo Network’s Unite Cable System - a planned high-capacity terrestrial cable, linking Darwin with Adelaide and Melbourne.
Major Project Status is a formal recognition of a project’s significance through its contribution to the Australian economy.
“Darwin is located within 50 milliseconds to more than 500 million people and offers a secure and stable location for digital, data, technology and telecommunication companies to start-up, relocate or expand their operations to service the local, Australian and Indo Pacific markets,” said Eva Lawler, chief minister of the Northern Territory Government.
“The new system will provide an alternate, low latency, high-capacity transmission service path between customers in Australia, with connections into Southeast Asia and the Indo Pacific.”
The Unite project has an estimated project capital expenditure of $225 million and will connect with Inligo’s Asia Connect Cable (ACC-1) subsea system in Darwin, connecting directly to Southeast Asia (Singapore and Indonesia), Timor Leste, Guam, and through to Los Angeles, USA.
“I am very proud Inligo has achieved Major Project Status for our Unite Cable system. It is a welcomed recognition of the highly strategic nature of our investment and the important role, both geographical and geopolitical, Darwin will play as a digital hub in the region,” added Brian Evans, chief executive officer, Inligo Networks.
The system is due to begin construction in 2024 and is expected to be completed in late 2027.
