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The build progress of Australia’s newest transcontinental network
Follow the progress of SMAP as SUBCO builds one of the most powerful undersea cables in the world
Day 545
SMAP Build Progress
Inshore
Deep Water
Terminal Equipment
Repeaters
Cables
System Assembly
Commonwealth
New South Wales
South Australia
Victoria
Western Australia
Sydney
Melbourne (Torquay)
Adelaide
Perth
Sydney
Melbourne (Torquay)
Adelaide
Perth
Sydney
Melbourne
Adelaide
Perth
Cable Loading
Inshore Installation
Land Cable Installation
Transit
Cable Laying
Acceptance Testing
Provisional Acceptance
SLTE Integration
Watch: Beach Manholes Arrive in Maroubra
February 11, 2025
It has been a big three months in Maroubra, with the six HDDs being completed. This now means the Beach Manholes (BMH) are ready to be installed.
Measuring 2.4 x 4 metres, three beach manholes were transported across the country and delivered on Monday in Maroubra. They were then lifted and moved into position in preparation for installation in the ground, with each BMH housing two of the HDD ocean lead-ins.
The ocean lead-ins are a crucial segment of the cable route that extends from terrestrial infrastructure into the marine environment, playing a vital role in safeguarding the cable and facilitating a seamless transition from land to sea.
The beach manhole provides access to essential cable components such as conduits, splice points, and accessories, enabling technicians to perform maintenance, inspections, or repairs.
After ground reinstatement occurs, access to the beach manholes should only be required every 10-15 years. Watch the footage below.
SUBCO attends Capacity Middle East in Dubai
February 6, 2025
In one of the world’s most iconic cities, SUBCO proudly joined the global infrastructure and telecom community at Capacity Middle East 2025, barely a fortnight after wrapping up at PTC in Honolulu.
From the Pacific to the Middle East, the conversations around SMAP continue as our founder, Bevan Slattery met with customers and partners ahead of launch, which is on track for early 2026.
Wet Cable – Complete!
January 30, 2025
- 100% wet segment cable sections
- 100% repeaters, including spares
- 100% branching units, including spares
Profile: Carlos Trujillo
January 28, 2025
Carlos Trujillo, Executive Director at SUBCO, brings over 30 years of domestic and international network management and inter-carrier negotiation experience.
Carlos has played a pivotal role in delivering major submarine infrastructure projects, including the Telstra Endeavour Project, where he oversaw the initiative from business case development through to commercial and operational execution. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and an Executive MBA.
When it comes to the SMAP Project, Carlos is based in our key location of Melbourne and ensures optimal stakeholder and partner engagement while overseeing the project’s performance at the highest level. We’re lucky to have you on the team, Carlos!

SUBCO attends PTC’25
January 23, 2025
SMAP Update: Enhancing Resilience of the SMAP Cable with FiberSense
January 21, 2025
Today we’re announcing an extension to our strategic partnership with FiberSense technology on the upcoming SMAP subsea cable.
Read the press release hereWhat is FiberSense?
FiberSense transforms existing fibre cables into a sensor network capable of detecting physical activity by analysing pico changes to light patterns in real-time. This technology helps identify disturbances including tampering, ship anchor dragging, fishing activities, cable unearthing and strumming or underwater seismic activity that could damage the cables.
Bevan’s thoughts on the partnership:
“I have long been a big supporter and investor in FiberSense because it truly is the first time we can make these systems situationally aware of their surroundings and detect activity nearby through sensing pico changes in optical characteristics from the slightest vibrations on the system.”
By armouring the SMAP cable with FiberSense, we’ll enable Australia’s only second subsea cable system to include dedicated sensing fibres, extending the capability of FiberSense to approximately 150km. The first system was SUBCO’s Oman Australia Cable (OAC).
Watch the announcement video below.
HDD work in Sydney edges towards completion
January 16, 2025

HDD progress in Sydney advanced steadily over the holidays, with the successful completion of HDD3 and HDD4. Meanwhile, work on the 5th HDD is nearing completion, with just a few metres to go before punch-out. This is on track to be finalised by the end of this week.
We would like to express our gratitude to the UEA Team for their dedication to the project and adherence to the timeline.
As always, we remain committed to ensuring that all our work in building undersea cables is carried out as efficiently as possible with minimal disruption to the surrounding communities.
A Big Year for the SMAP Project – 2024 Progress Recap
December 24, 2024
- Cable Manufacturing: Production began at ASN.
- System Upgrade: The SMAP cable’s design was enhanced from 12 to 16 fibre pairs, increasing total system capacity by 33%. This upgrade provides an increased total capacity from 300Tbps to 400Tbps, meeting surging demand connectivity.
- Sydney Fronthaul: Construction commenced, moving the project forward.
- Marine Surveys: Shallow and deep-sea surveys began, supported by shallow water cameras and the Bold Explorer.
- Repeater Manufacturing: Production of subsea repeaters started.
- Survey Completion: All marine surveys were successfully completed.
- Backhaul Work: Torquay backhaul development kicked off.
- Groundbreaking in Adelaide: A ceremony with local stakeholders marked the start of construction for SMAP’s Adelaide segment.
- Adelaide HDD Completion: Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) finished, paving the way for the beach manhole excavation and installation.
- LEGO Model at AusNOG: We showcased a LEGO model of the SMAP Cable at AusNOG 2024.
- Groundbreaking in Maroubra: Celebrations took place as HDD work officially began. Melbourne (Torquay) HDD is scheduled for 2025, with all landing infrastructure expected to be ready within the next 12 months.
- Adelaide Site Reinstatement: The Adelaide drill site was fully reinstated, with West Beach Parks approving the beach manhole site.
- Mock Lab at HQ: A mock lab was set up to test network equipment for the SMAP cable.
- Backhaul Design: The Torquay to Melbourne backhaul design reached completion.
- Repeater Progress: Subsea repeater manufacturing hit 100% completion.
- Partnership with Google: SUBCO announced a collaboration with Google to develop critical landing infrastructure in Maroubra, NSW, and Torquay, VIC. This partnership aims to deploy connectivity solutions efficiently while minimizing environmental impact and strengthening Australia’s subsea cable routes.
- Cable Manufacturing: Progressing well, with completion anticipated by year-end. Deployment is scheduled for mid-2025.
Watch: Bevan Slattery’s Keynote AusNOG Speech
December 19, 2024
One of the highlights of 2024 was our founder, Bevan Slattery’s, keynote at AusNOG titled Behind the Curtain of Building Australia’s Most Secure Subsea Systems.
Without further ado, we’re excited to share the full presentation, courtesy of AusNOG.
Wavelength products – Part Three, OTN Client Services
December 17, 2024
In addition to carrying ethernet services, OTN networks have their own interface standards allowing the carriage of OTN containers from other customers networks.
When purchasing an “OTN” product from SUBCO, carriers can transparently run their own OTN networks across the top of the SUBCO network. SUBCO offers OTN services at OTU4 (100Gbps) or OTU2/2e(10Gbps) interface rates.
When it comes to SMAP, a customer may have optical DWDM/OTN equipment in Perth and Sydney, and purchase an OTU4 OTN service from SUBCO across SMAP.
By connecting using an OTU4 between the two cities, the customer now has 100Gbps of dedicated capacity it can use and break up into smaller chucks of guaranteed capacity for its own use or combine with its own value features for on-sell to its own target market. In this setup, the customer’s Sydney and Perth devices are able to communicate transparently with each other using the OTU4 service across the SUBCO network using what is known as General Communication Channels (GCC).
