Australian-owned and Singapore-headquartered Inligo Networks will play a key role delivering critical infrastructure and services to Northern Australia.
The telecommunications firm is building a Cable Landing Station (CLS) in the vicinity of 4 new international subsea cables into Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT). These include Inligo Networks’ flagship Asia Connect Cable, currently in development.
Darwin is located within 50 milliseconds to more than 500 million people. It offers a secure and stable location for digital, data, technology and telecommunication companies to start up, relocate or expand their operations to service the Australian and Indo-Pacific markets.
Inligo Networks commenced the project delivery in 2024 and expects the development and construction of the CLS to take approximately 18 months and be ready for service in the second half of 2026. The project will create 75 jobs during construction and 14 jobs once operational.
Connecting Australia to Southeast Asia and the US
The CLS is part of the company’s ambitious project to help develop the NT’s digital infrastructure and connect it to the southeastern states of Australia. The NT Government assisted Inligo Networks to acquire land for the CLS in proximity to the Asia Connect Cable landing point beach manhole.
The Unite Cable System will connect to Inligo Networks’ Asia Connect Cable (ACC-1). ACC-1 is a 19,000-kilometre cable that will connect Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to Guam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste and California, US.
The ACC-1 network will provide global telecommunications companies and government agencies with a hyperscale route between Australia, Southeast Asia and the US. It is set to start operating in 2028.
The combination of ACC-1 and the Unite Cable System will position Darwin as a digital gateway that can support the high technology industries in Australia’s north and connect Australia with the dynamic economies of Southeast Asia.
How Austrade helped
Inligo Networks reached out to Austrade for assistance with introductions to key stakeholders. These included the NT Government, and state governments in South Australia and Victoria. Austrade also connected Inligo Networks to Export Finance Australia.
Austrade’s regional offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also supported Inligo Networks with advice and market insights.
‘Austrade was pivotal in bringing together various government instrumentalities in Australia and in the region,’ says Brian Evans, Inligo Networks’ Chief Executive Officer. ‘Once we were able to engage with those who were pivotal to the development of the project, we were able to reach agreement on both scope and the necessary resources required to make this investment a success.
‘Austrade were very professional and committed to the success of the vision and the project from start to finish.’
The company’s new facility in Darwin will support networks that connect Australia with Southeast Asia and the United States.
The Cable Landing Station is a vital component of the global telecommunications infrastructure. These unassuming buildings house the termination point of undersea fiber-optic cables that carry the vast majority of international data traffic. Without them, the world as we know it today would not be possible. Undersea cables have become the backbone of global communication, with over 1.2 million kms of cable crisscrossing the ocean floor. (DXN Solutions)
Read more about the vital role of Cable Landing Stations within Global Telecommunications Infrastructure with an article from DXN.Solutions.
Further reading about the successful involvement of Austrade in supporting Inligo networks development of Darwin and Northern Australia.