Southern Cross Cables has confirmed key milestones for its Tasman Express subsea cable, set to deliver high-speed connectivity between Sydney and Auckland by 2028.
Southern Cross Cables has confirmed the successful completion of several critical milestones for its flagship Tasman Express subsea cable project, a cutting-edge subsea cable system directly connecting Sydney and Auckland. Designed to meet the surging demand for trans-Tasman data capacity, Tasman Express will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity that redefines the digital relationship between Australia and New Zealand.
Stretching over 2,200 kilometres beneath the Tasman Sea, the new cable is engineered to support multi-terabit throughput with ultra-low latency – unlocking new opportunities for cloud services, AI training and inferencing, enterprise networks and Digital Transformation across both nations.
“Tasman Express is more than infrastructure – it’s a strategic enabler for the region’s digital future,’ said Laurie Miller, President and CEO, Southern Cross Cables.
“It strengthens our connectivity, enhances resilience and positions Australia and New Zealand to lead in the global digital economy.”
Scheduled for completion in 2028, Tasman Express will deliver:
• US$400 Tbps of capacity across 16 fibre pairs, supporting exponential growth in AI, cloud and digital infrastructure.
• Optimised latency for next-generation applications, connecting major data centre hubs with unparalleled speed.
• Open Cable System architecture, ensuring compatibility with future submarine line terminal upgrades.
• ASN branching unit technology, enabling optional landings in alternate Australian and New Zealand locations subject to demand.
“The level of market engagement and confidence in Tasman Express has been exceptional,” said Miller. “We’re seeing strong demand from hyper-scalers, telcos and enterprise customers who recognise the strategic value of direct, low-latency connectivity between Sydney and Auckland.”
Key benefits:
• Direct, high-capacity route: Reduces latency and boosts performance for mission-critical applications.
• Enhanced network resilience: Diversifies existing paths and mitigates risk from outages or disruptions.
• Future-proof scalability: Built to support exponential growth in bandwidth demand from hyper-scalers, telcos and enterprises.
• Regional empowerment: Improves access to high-capacity interconnectivity between key regional data-centre hubs in Sydney and Auckland.
Tasman Express complements the broader Southern Cross ecosystem, reinforcing Southern Cross’s role as a leading provider of international connectivity across the Pacific. With commercial service expected in 2028, the cable is already attracting strong interest from cloud providers, content platforms and government agencies.
While the Tasman Express cable system itself is still in project phase, customers can begin scaling their trans-Tasman capacity immediately via Southern Cross’s existing trans-Tasman network links, leveraging the full strength of the Southern Cross ecosystem.
A smarter, faster trans-Tasman future
From fintech and media to education and remote work, Tasman Express is pitched as accelerating Digital Transformation and economic collaboration across the Tasman.
While the desktop study was completed over 12 months ago – an important early step in the planning process – the project has since progressed through a series of significantly more complex and critical milestones. These include finalising the detailed system design, executing open system and marine supply contracts with full costings and deployment timelines, securing landing party agreements and associated backhaul connectivity on both sides of the Tasman and completing financing arrangements.
In parallel, anchor customer discussions are said to be well advanced with pre-sales closure targeted in the near term.
