Chinese cable project red-flagged

An undersea cable project by China’s Huawei, aimed at delivering internet to the Solomon Islands, has been banned from connecting to Australia’s broadband network. Instead, Canberra will fund the project


Vital statistics

97% Proportion of global communications transmitted via submarine cables

US$10,000 billion Value of financial transactions made via undersea cables per day

213 Independent cable systems carrying 877,000km of fibre

97,304km Length of undersea cables landing in Australia


Undersea cables
Landing points 
Australian proposal

INDIAN OCEAN
INDONESIA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PACIFIC OCEAN
SOLOMON ISLANDS
Noro
Auki
Honiara
Port Moresby
VANUATU
CALEDONIA
FIJI
Cable length 4,500km
Perth
Port Hedland
Darwin
AUSTRALIA
Sydney
Canberra
TASMANIA
NEW ZEALAND
500 miles 800km


3cm wide

Plastic (polyethylene) coating

Mylar tape

Armoured steel wire

Insulation

Copper power conductor

Steel wire

Fibres: Between four and 200 fibres

Sources: TeleGeography; Undersea Cables by Rishi Suna, Policy Exchange 
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