Subsea cables are fibre-optic wires running along the ocean floor that transmit data to onshore landing stations and facilitate intercontinental internet traffic. Google's Bosun cable will travel through telecommunication conduits connected to the Fannie Bay site to Christmas Island, where there is onward connectivity to Singapore. Bosun forms part of Google's Connect Australia initiative, a network of fibre-optic cables linking Darwin and Perth to the east coast and trans-Pacific cable networks.
On the opposite side of the street, Inligo Networks is constructing a single-storey building to harbour part of its Asia Connect Cable System (ACC-1). Once complete, ACC-1 will connect Darwin to four Indonesian cities, East-Timor, Singapore, the Philippines, Guam and the US mainland. It will also connect to Inligo's Unite Cable System, a network linking Darwin, Adelaide and Melbourne that was granted major project status under the former Northern Territory government.
The Inligo facility's open status means multiple telecommunication companies and service providers will be able to use one of the cables for their networks. Darwin is on track to host five international subsea cables in the coming years, with major tech firms seeking to exploit the city's proximity to south-east Asia and the Pacific. The Northern Territory's first international subsea cable, Vocus's Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable system, went online in July 2023 following a government investment of nearly $8 million.
The planning application lodged with the Development Consent Authority does not detail what the telecom infrastructure at the Google site will be.