Australia Being Hit With Broadband Southern Cross Cable Network in Final Stages Ben Alley
Australia will have a massive broadband connection on November 15, 2000, as the Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN) will finally be up. The Network spans 30,500 km, with an estimated lifetime of 24 years.
"Until now our Internet experience has been constrained by the lack of reliable and cost-effective international bandwidth to connect Australasia to the heart of the Internet - the U.S. west coast. By removing the international bandwidth bottleneck, Southern Cross allows full participation in the online worlds of entertainment, commerce and information for the first time." "With globalization proceeding at a rapid pace, the significance of Southern Cross to the future strength of the Australasian economy cannot be underestimated," says Mr. Sutich. The entering into service of the Southern Cross Cable Network will mark the end of more than two years of manufacturing, construction and testing for the Southern Cross project team and their suppliers, Alcatel and Fujitsu.
Seven cable ships have been used by SCCN to lay 28,000km of undersea cable across four countries. Over 1,500 km of land route has also been commisioned.
