Google wants to land subsea cables at Maroubra beach

Google is proposing to land two new subsea cables outside of designated protection zones in Sydney, owing to “congestion” within those zones.

The company, through its “registered licence carrier company Perch Infrastructure”, has applied to the NSW government for permission to land the cables at Maroubra Beach in Sydney’s south. The application was first reported by CommsDay.

It is also separately proposing that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) extend the boundary of the existing southern Sydney cable protection zone, which spans North Bondi to South Coogee.

Google is building two cables under its Pacific Connect Initiative – Tabua and Honomoana – that will connect “Australia to the United States of America (US), Fiji, French Polynesia, and New Zealand”.

A submission [pdf] to NSW planning authorities notes that there are currently 12 subsea cables that land in the protection zones in Sydney, six of which are in the southern zone.

“Traditionally, within NSW, subsea cables typically land in the northern or southern Sydney cable protection zones,” the submission states.

“However, congestion in these areas has required telecommunication providers to seek alternative sites.

“Given the increasing congestion in Sydney’s protection zones, routing the cable outside of 
these areas would alleviate pressure, prevent network overcrowding, and enhance overall system resilience.”

The company added that a “route landing at Maroubra offers operational redundancy and address the growing demands for connectivity.”

The company is proposing to install two cables “from two cable conduits ‘punch out points’ located approximately one kilometre offshore”. 

“From the ‘punch out points’, the cables would either be buried below the seabed or laid on the seabed (or a combination of these) out to the NSW three nautical mile (5.56 kilometre) coastal waters limit,” the submission states.