Subsea network developer Subco has announced an ambitious new submarine cable project designed to deliver direct connectivity between Australia and the mainland United States, marking a first in transpacific infrastructure.

The express system, named APX East, will consist of sixteen fibre pairs and is scheduled to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of two thousand twenty-eight.

Unlike existing routes, APX East will span from Sydney to San Diego without intermediate landings or interconnection points, creating what the company says will be the single longest continuous optical subsea cable path in the world.

This direct route does not require optical regeneration and can be powered from a single end in the event of fault conditions, enhancing reliability and simplicity for customers including hyperscalers, neoclouds and international carriers.

Subco’s founder and co-chief executive, Bevan Slattery, said the design of APX East reflects the latest advances in submarine cable technology and will significantly reduce latency between Australia and the United States, a key consideration as demand intensifies for large-scale international capacity.

The express hypercable is being positioned to support Australia’s emerging artificial intelligence infrastructure, with industry forecasts suggesting around three gigawatts of AI-related data centre capacity may be deployed in the country by two thousand twenty-eight, requiring between seventy-five and one hundred fifty terabits per second of international data throughput.

APX East will initially connect Sydney and San Diego, with optional branches to Hawaii and Fiji expected to become operational in two thousand twenty-nine to provide additional resiliency and network diversity.

The route will land in a new location north of Sydney’s existing cable protection zone, offering strategic diversity from other subsea systems and reducing permitting risk that can delay installation.

Fibre pair owners on APX East will need only to install submarine line terminal equipment at each end of the cable to begin using capacity, simplifying deployment compared with traditional systems.

Subco also describes the project as a sovereign-owned international hypercable that reduces reliance on external hyperscalers for Australian connectivity needs, aligning with broader national ambitions to strengthen digital infrastructure and global connectivity.