en.Wedoany.com Reported - Vocus has completed and activated the 2,000 km Horizon fiber network connecting Perth and Port Hedland, providing the Pilbara and Mid West regions with their first direct access to Asia to meet the growing demand for cloud, artificial intelligence, and data-intensive applications, while enhancing connectivity resilience in Australia's key economic regions.
Historically, the Pilbara region, despite its significant contribution to Australia's export revenue through the mining and resources industry, has relied on a single long-haul route for connectivity. The introduction of the Horizon network is expected to foster competition and route diversity, opening new pathways to international digital infrastructure. This project is a key milestone under Vocus's "Vocus 2030" strategy, aimed at expanding Australia's digital backbone as demand for AI and cloud services continues to grow.
Western Australia's Minister for Regional Development, Science and Innovation, Stephen Dawson, stated that digital inclusion is economic inclusion, and investments like Vocus's Horizon project are connecting remote and regional areas of Western Australia, enhancing competition, reducing data costs, and making internet services more affordable and reliable for local communities.
A notable feature of the Horizon network is its integration with new digital infrastructure in the Pilbara, particularly its connection to NEXTDC's edge data centers in Newman and Port Hedland. This configuration allows data generated by mining operations and regional businesses to be processed closer to its source, which is crucial for the increasing adoption of automation and AI technologies in the resources sector. Claire Sangster, Regional Sales Director at NEXTDC, noted that by directly connecting to its facilities in Port Hedland and Newman, Horizon strengthens the critical infrastructure ecosystem supporting one of the world's most important resource regions.
The network is designed to carry up to 38 Tbps of capacity and can be scaled to over 90 Tbps to meet future demand. Matt Walsh, Chief Customer Officer at Vocus, stated that automation, remote operations, and data-intensive processing are already operational in the region and growing rapidly, and the company has laid the capacity needed for the region over the next five years. The network was developed in partnership with Fortescue, which provided land and rail corridor access for construction.
The Horizon network completes the western segment of Vocus's "figure-eight" national network architecture, enabling multiple traffic paths across Australia and enhancing service reliability. The network also connects to Vocus's Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore submarine cable, providing a more direct route to Asia. The expansion of the Horizon network is also expected to benefit Australia's research and education sectors. Angus Griffin, Director of Customer Relations at AARNet, stated that collaborating with Vocus on investments in remote areas of Western Australia will help researchers collaborate more effectively with international partners, accelerate research data transfer, and support the development of Western Australia's space sector.
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