Equinix picked to host new SMAP subsea cable landing stations
Equinix has been chosen by SUBCO to host the landing stations for the new SMAP subsea cable at its data centres in Sydney and Perth, with additional points of presence in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The 5,000km SMAP cable, expected to be operational in early 2026, represents the first direct subsea cable link between Australia's east and west coasts. This system is set to provide low-latency, high-capacity connectivity within Australia and to regions including Asia, Europe and the Middle East, by integrating with existing subsea cables such as Indigo West and the Oman Australia Cable at Equinix's Perth campus.
Connectivity boost
Sydney has long served as a major connectivity hub, but Perth's emergence as a digital gateway to international markets is significant. Equinix has reported that, as of the end of August 2025, its Internet Exchange traffic across Australia has grown by 51% compared to the same period in 2024. This substantial increase is attributed to greater uptake of cloud services and artificial intelligence, alongside government programmes promoting digitisation, 5G integration and smart city development.
Bevan Slattery, Founder of SUBCO, explained the strategic value of the partnership with Equinix in connecting the SMAP cable through its well-connected data centres.
Partnering with Equinix to connect SMAP in its ecosystem-dense data centres enables us to more seamlessly interconnect the many network providers within Equinix facilities as well as our other subsea cable assets in Perth and Sydney. This is especially important due to Perth's strategic position as Australia's new secure gateway to Asia and Europe. The SMAP cable sets a new benchmark for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity, empowering businesses in our increasingly interconnected world.
The introduction of the SMAP cable will, for the first time, connect Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney via a direct subsea route. Equinix's data centres will facilitate rapid, reliable data transfers, benefitting organisations operating within its facilities. The presence of redundant routes in the network architecture aims to alleviate congestion and prevent outages, thereby supporting consistent global connectivity.
Data centre architecture
Equinix's vendor-neutral and multi-tenant design enables SMAP's customers to access a broad range of enterprises, cloud providers and service vendors within the same data centre. This interconnection capability is designed to improve network performance and lower connectivity expenses, ensuring that data transmission is both faster and more reliable for users.
Guy Danskine, Managing Director of Equinix Australia, highlighted the significance of the SMAP cable for the country's digital infrastructure.
The SMAP cable will further enhance Australia's digital infrastructure, helping businesses scale and thrive in our growing digital economy. This direct link between Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth provides a critical alternate and redundant path, enhancing resilience to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and further establishing Australia as a global connectivity hub.
Cable details
The SMAP system, described as a state-of-the-art transcontinental network, consists of 16 fibre pairs and offers a total capacity of 400Tbps. It is fully armoured to provide physical resilience, supporting the digital economy in Australia. The cable forms the first stage of the wider HyperOne project, which aims to develop a national fibre backhaul network.
International connections from SMAP will be facilitated by integration with Indigo West (for Southeast Asia) and the Oman Australia Cable (for Europe and the Middle East). By supplying redundant routes, SMAP is designed to minimise congestion and help prevent network disruptions.
Sustainability focus
SUBCO aims for the SMAP cable to become the world's first fully zero-carbon long-haul subsea cable system by incorporating renewable energy infrastructure at its landing stations, prioritising sustainability in its design and operation.
Equinix operates data centres in 77 metropolitan areas worldwide, many of which host key subsea cable landing points, positioning it as a central player for enterprises seeking reliable and scalable digital connectivity. The deployment of SMAP is intended to support continued traffic growth, which in 2025 has already seen notable increases driven by greater demand for bandwidth from cloud, AI and government sector initiatives.
