Telstra plans U.S. fiber network upgrades

July 8, 2020

The international communications services provider said that it will increase the capacity of two transpacific submarine cable networks that land in the U.S., establish a pair of new points of presence (PoPs), and enhance its terrestrial network.

Stephen Hardy

Telstra revealed it plans to upgrade its fiber-optic network in and to the U.S. The Australia-based international communications services provider said that it will increase the capacity of two transpacific submarine cable networks that land in the U.S., establish a pair of new points of presence (PoPs), and enhance its terrestrial networks in the country.

The upgrade program will see the addition of more than 1.5 Tbps of bandwidth on the two submarine cables, according to the announcement. The capacity increase comes as the result of growing demand for transpacific communications, Telstra says. Overall, the service provider says that COVID-19 inspired demand growth has reached up to a 35% increase on its international network.

The two new PoPs will be in Hillsboro, OR, and Los Angeles, where Telstra asserts its seeing increased customer demand. The two new PoPs bring to 21 the total number of Telstra facilities in the U.S. The service provider recently established PoPs in Atlanta, Seattle, Denver, and Dallas as well as a new sales office in Chicago. Those PoPs will be tied together with a fiber infrastructure that will be enhanced to accommodate 100G transit services.

“We’ve experienced incredible demand for connectivity into Asia-Pacific over the last year, as more U.S. businesses look for growth in Asia, one of the world’s largest growth markets,” said Nick Collins, President of Telstra, Americas. “To meet this need, ensure we deliver the best experience to our customers, and remain one of the most-trusted partners to deliver content, data, and IP to and from the U.S. and Asia, we are committed to continually investing in our U.S. network infrastructure, at a time when connectivity and collaboration between the two high-growth regions continues to be important.”

Editor's Note: This article has been amended to state the correct amount of bandwidth that will be added to Telstra's submarine networks. The change derives from updated information provided by Telstra's PR firm.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.