Aussie AI boost: $500m network planned for major cities
Australia’s AI backbone could get a $500 million boost after a telecommunications company announced plans to expand its fiber network starting in Sydney and Melbourne.
But the announcement came with a warning that the country could be left behind in the global AI race if they fail to provide sufficiently high-capacity connections, with the future of the technology set to be decided in as little as five years.
Vocus announced its investment on Wednesday, revealing plans to build long-distance fiber connectivity between Australia’s two largest cities to meet growing demand for AI from businesses.
The news comes a week after the company completed its 2000km fiber network between Perth and Port Hedland in Western Australia, pitting its network against rivals from NBN Co, Telstra and HyperOne.
Australia has become a major focal point for AI investments by local and international companies, with multibillion-dollar data center commitments from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, AirTrunk and CDC Data Centers.
But Vocus chief executive Andres Irlando said fiber connections between these developments could slow progress and stifle Australia’s independent AI ambitions.
“If you look at the growth and demand for data center capacity over the last five years, for example, it’s increasing rapidly,” he told AAP.
“What hasn’t kept pace with that is fiber infrastructure, which I like to call the critical arteries that make the digital infrastructure ecosystem really work.”
Mr Irlando said Vocus’s fiber network between Sydney and Melbourne would use channeled fiber technology, which is considered standard in the US and Europe, and is expected to be completed in 2029.
The connection will form part of the company’s Australian Digital Infrastructure Platform, connecting more capitals and regional towns to high-capacity fibre, and will be completed over years rather than decades to ensure Australia can benefit from the AI boom.
“Decisions being made by global customers and local customers are happening now and they’re looking at where the capacity will be to support their use cases in the relatively near future,” he said.
“The winners and losers of the global arms race around AI will be determined over the next five to eight years.”
Many companies have deployed fiber networks in Australia, including NBN Co, which is upgrading many of its copper connections with fibre, and Telstra InfraCo, which is developing a national fiber network to support the adoption of AI.
Building smart infrastructure, including fiber optic connectivity, was named a key priority in the federal government’s National Artificial Intelligence Plan, released in December to make the country a leading destination for technology investments.
