Southern Cross Cables Introduces Land-Based Tracking on New Zealand Undersea Data Network
The Southern Cross Cable Network has announced a significant partnership with FiberSense, a leading provider of digital marine services, to bolster the resilience and monitoring capabilities of its subsea network.
The Southern Cross NEXT cable, the latest high-performance express route in the Southern Cross ecosystem, will be at the heart of this collaboration. The integration of FiberSense's DigitalMarine service is set to revolutionise the network, providing 24x7 monitoring of both shore-ends and the terrestrial network connecting the two landing stations.
FiberSense's proprietary FiberSense Marine Interface Unit facilitates the integration, with sensing occurring outside the frequencies used for data traffic wavelengths. This innovative approach ensures that the monitoring system does not interfere with the network's data transmission.
Mark Englund, FiberSense Founder and CEO, stated that this partnership is vital for innovations in improved awareness and resilience for submarine cable systems. He added that the collaboration will enable the SX Network to detect seabed interaction events such as anchoring and fishing with greater accuracy.
The improved algorithms and techniques developed by FiberSense will also enable the SX Network to benefit from better integration with AIS for vessel identification, leading to class-leading levels of protection monitoring.
SX's Dean Veverka stated that the integration of FiberSense's service into a live traffic carrying fibre was executed seamlessly. The monitoring covers the cable landing station to the first repeater, providing total "always on" coverage.
By the end of September, the new generation technology will be installed on all critical terrestrial links and out to first repeaters of the SX network in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States West Coast. Myocean is planning the integration of FiberSense DigitalMarine services in Australia and the United States, with the rollout expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
The partnership between FiberSense and SX has resulted in a series of world firsts in subsea networks. FiberSense has developed a proprietary coupling methodology to ensure that the sensing signal does not interfere with the operation of the communications traffic.
The Southern Cross Cable Network, comprising three diverse submarine communications cables from Oceania to the US West Coast, will see improved threat detection, prevention, and rectification time as a result of the new technology. The network also stands to benefit from the real-time asset protection capability against potential external threats.
FiberSense and SX are looking forward to further innovations in subsea that balance increased resilience and situational awareness with industry-leading fail-safe architectures. The expansion includes the implementation of FiberSense's Digital Marine subsea cable monitoring capability across SX's New Zealand shore-end infrastructure.
The SX Network provides data centre connectivity between Sydney, Auckland, and Los Angeles. The integration of the FiberSense DigitalMarine service in New Zealand is the first stage of the SX rollout plan for the new technology. The partnership between FiberSense and SX is a significant step towards enhancing the security and reliability of global subsea communications networks.
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