On Friday, Australian telecommunications infrastructure builder Fibre Expressway Pty Ltd (FEPL) unveiled the details of Project Koete, a $1.5 billion 5G enabled technology ecosystem in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that will connect the region to strategic Asia Pacific markets. Project Koete will provide data and internet connectivity domestically between Perth and Darwin, while also directly connecting the territory to international business hubs in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and across the Asia Pacific region.
FEPL expects the project to be “a major drawcard” for attracting multinational companies to Western Australia, and boosting digital investment from the natural resource, finance, and cloud computing industries.
The project will include a 10,000-kilometer, 60 MW capacity, carrier-neutral, high-speed low-latency subsea cable connecting with three greenfield Tier IV data centers in the cities of Perth, Darwin and Dampier, and seven cable landing stations (CLS) between Perth and Darwin. The cable will be 5G-enabled, with the inclusion of 16 fiber pairs.
The ecosystem will also bring onshore connectivity to remote indigenous communities and mining industries in the region and–according to FEPL–provide mobile operators with a means of challenging the monopolistic services that exist North of Perth. Koete is also expected to offer better connectivity to the oil and gas fields off northwestern Australia.
The project is being primarily funded by approximately $650 million in senior debt and $850 million in equity, both of which are open for new investors.
“As the economy increasingly digitizes, this investment signals to Australia, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world that this region is ready to become a digital hub,” said Gary Kennedy, FEPL’s onboarding CEO, touting Koete as “the most significant technology investment Western Australia and the Northern Territory have ever seen.
“The ecosystem will support the region’s most significant developments, including the enhanced digitization of oil fields supporting next-generation digital infrastructure including IoT, artificial intelligence, and even support the monitoring of underwater seismic activity to help predict tsunamis, maritime activity and its impact on global warming, and water temperature and level,” Kennedy said.
Project Koete will offer less than half of the latency in connection to Asia compared with a Sydney-to-Singapore connection, according to FEPL Group Managing Director Peter Bannister. He also sees the potential for significant environmental benefits from the project, as the rollout links to a number of renewable energy projects across the region.
“We’re partnering with wind, solar and, in the longer term, ocean and clean hydrogen providers, to satisfy the need for 100 percent renewable energy access over time,” said Bannister. “We’re targeting 30 plus years’ scalability assuredness, enabling customers to plan for decades, not just years. By working with our global partner network, we’re confident Project Koete will be delivered under world-leading governance and rule-of-law standards.”
According to FEPL, the data centers will be built to the Tier IV Uptime Institute standard and the highest levels of security and efficiency. Each one will have an initial capacity of 20MW – the equivalent of power for 13,000 homes – with room to grow. The cable landing station (CLS) will serve as a primary connection point from Perth and Darwin to the subsea cable.
“This facility will combine the benefits of greater interconnectivity between north and western Australia and the world, encouraging greater investment in the region, and improving data security and sovereignty,” said Kennedy.
The project is expected to be operational by 2024.
