Last week, SUBCO and Google came together at the HDD bore site at Maroubra Beach, to share insights into how the cables are constructed and assembled in situ. 

This gathering marks the recently announced partnership, in which SUBCO and Google are working together to develop coordinated cable landing infrastructure at two critical locations: Maroubra, NSW, and Torquay, VIC.  As the partnership demonstrates a considerable investment into Australian digital infrastructure, US Consul General, Christine Elder, from the US Embassy in Australia, was also present. 

Today we’re announcing our new partnership with Google to build critical landing infrastructure as part of the SMAP Build. Together, SUBCO and Google will collaborate on building landing infrastructure in Maroubra, NSW, and Torquay, VIC as well as new infrastructure that connects these locations to their cable landing stations.  
 
One of the key benefits of this partnership lies in our shared infrastructure approach. By combining local expertise and resources, we’re able to deploy critical connectivity solutions more quickly and with reduced environmental impact. SUBCO and Google’s commitment to minimal disruption extends from our new Torquay cable landing station to fronthaul connections, including HDD bore pipes and beach manholes. 
 
Belle Lajoie, Co-CEO of Soda Infrastructure/SUBCO, said

“We are excited to partner with Google as they expand their subsea infrastructure in Australia. This collaboration allows both parties to harness shared infrastructure, enhancing resilience, speeding up project delivery, and minimising environmental and community impact. Together, we’re delivering vital subsea connectivity to Australia’s major cities and establishing new, robust subsea cable routes between Sydney and Melbourne – strengthening connectivity across the region.”  

Through this partnership, we’re not only advancing Australia’s digital infrastructure but are also prioritising environmental care and community sensitivity.

Manufacturing of SMAP’s 61 repeaters has been completed, signalling a major milestone in the production of the cable system.

During the manufacturing of the repeaters, over 25,000 tests/checks were carried out to ensure they meet specified performance criteria.

Each repeater is placed 90km apart over the length of the cable and extensive testing and qualification are carried out to ensure they can withstand life under the sea for 25-30 years without maintenance, at depths of up to 8000m.

What components make up Subsea Repeaters?

The subsea repeater’s job is to provide amplification for the incoming optical signal in each direction on each fibre pair. In the case of SMAP, optical amplification is typically achieved using a type of optical device known as an “Erbium Doped Fibre Amplifier” or EDFA.

An EDFA consists of a section of fibre “doped” with a small amount of Erbium ions, a “pump” laser used to excite the Erbium ions, and an optical coupler to combine the incoming signal with the pump laser’s output.

The pump laser operates at a significantly different wavelength (usually at 980nm or 1480nm) to the repeater’s signal bandwidth (usually centred about 1550nm), so besides exciting the Erbium ions it doesn’t directly interact with the incoming signal.

However, when the incoming optical signal interacts with the excited Erbium ions it causes some of them to drop back to a lower energy state and release new photons with the same phase and direction of propagation as the incident signal, causing signal amplification.

A practical EDFA also includes components like isolators with a finely tuned distribution of Erbium ions and pump laser power to optimise the bandwidth, gain and noise of the amplifier.

Noise in an EDFA (also known as “Spontaneous Emission”) occurs when excited Erbium ions spontaneously drop to a lower excitation level, releasing photons with random direction and phase, rather than in sync with the incoming signal.

The rest of the repeater consists of:

• the electronics required to power the pump laser
• the “sea case” to protect the delicate optical and electrical equipment inside
• the “coupling”, in which the repeater is jointed to the subsea cable along with the associated protective flexible armadillo, cable glands and joint housing

How is the rest of our manufacturing going?

• Cables: 80%
• Repeaters: 100%
• Branching Units: 33%
• Terminal Equipment: 100%
• System Assembly: 60%

This week, SUBCO is attending the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA) AGM, hosted by Optic Marine Services (OMS) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN).

The SPMMA members’ gathering is an annual industry event where the region’s subsea cable operators and maintenance providers review and discuss past and upcoming maintenance matters related to critical subsea infrastructure.

The OMS marine operations team provides support services that cover all SUBCO subsea cables entering Australia. This marine support is conducted via ships like the Cable Ship (CS) Lodbrog and CS Teneo.

Recently, the CS Lodbrog played a role in an emergency rescue mission, assisting 11 sailors after their ship ran aground off the coast of Samoa.

After thorough investigations and design work, we’re happy to announce that the Backhaul Path design from Torquay to Melbourne is now complete. 

This route will consist of 100km of new fibre that leads from our cable landing station (under construction) in Torquay, all the way to Melbourne CBD. The team have spent weeks meticulously selecting the route in order to give our customers the best security and capacity possible.

We would like to thank TelcoFS for their work over the course of these design works and appreciate the high-level of detail provided through their investigations. With the Design complete, we now move toward beginning the Construction & Hauling activities.

Be sure to keep checking back here to see how that progresses over the next 12 months. 

The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is a global organisation supporting cable operators, governments, and scientific institutions working together to promote the security and sustainability of subsea cables.

The ICPC provides guidelines on best practices for cable installation, maintenance, and protection against physical threats, such as fishing activities and natural disasters.

It also collaborates with international bodies to advocate for regulations supporting cable protection and raises awareness of the critical role these cables play in global connectivity.

Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) offers essential, free safety tools that allow users to locate and assess below-ground infrastructure, helping prevent accidental damage to critical assets. BYDA’s centralised data repository enables safe work practices and is invaluable for anyone planning excavation or construction projects

SUBCO has integrated its assets into BYDA’s system, making it accessible to contractors who work on projects like SMAP. This approach allows teams to safely navigate existing networks, reduce the risk of accidents, and ensure that safety remains a top priority as they build and expand network infrastructure.

With Manufacturing tracking well, we’re excited to report that we have hit 30% completion of the System assembly. The System Assembly & Tests consists of the steps required to combine the system components in order to verify and document the performance of the system, first at the “block” level and finally at the whole of system level in the factory prior to ship loading.

When the cable system components are manufactured, including the: cable sections, repeaters, branching units and terminal equipment, they are first joined into so-called “blocks” consisting of a certain number of contiguous cable sections and their associated repeaters (roughly every 18 repeaters in the case of SMAP).  The gain flatness and tilt for the block are then measured to identify any accumulated gain shape or tilt variations outside required thresholds. Whilst each repeater already has its own “Gain Flattening Filter”, minor variations in individual repeater gain shape or tilt can accumulate after numerous repeaters and need to be corrected by the periodic insertion of shape and/or tilt equalisation filters.

Once all the blocks are confirmed and corrected, the whole of the system is assembled in the factory and extensive tests are carried out to verify all system functions and performance prior to ship loading.  The lists of tests required is quite large but includes things like:

• Verify operation of all system power configurations and associated power switching, e.g.
  • Double & single end feeding from each end
  • Branch power configurations
• Verify system operating voltages at nominal system current
• Verify transmission performance across each optical path, including:
  • Gain shape and tilt
  • Optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR)
• Verify active branching unit command response for all optical and/or power switching functions

Block assembly and testing continues as manufacturing proceeds and we are looking forward to completion of manufacturing and full system assembling tests early next year.

As Senior Legal Counsel for Soda and Soda Infrastructure, Rob Sinni is critical from start to finish in our planning approvals, commercial contracts and developing other legal frameworks. With sought-after experience in top tier law firms, Rob is a diligent, level-headed source of wisdom and critical thinking.

“SMAP has many moving parts and managing the contractual and regulatory aspects of the project has been a very rewarding journey for me so far.

I think sometimes as a team we forget the scale of what we are building – a new 5,000 km subsea cable with three new landings, two of those in states for the first time (South Australia and Victoria). But I think that’s equally the thing I enjoy most – working with a team that is prepared to dive in, solve problems and move the project forward, rather than focus on the challenges or being daunted about the path ahead.

I’m looking forward to working on the next phase of the project and bringing the project to RFS with the team.”