Sunshine Coast scouts for off-shore cable

Mayor Mark Jamieson has announced that the Sunshine Coast Council has lodged a submission with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to start the process of declaring an offshore cable protection zone, as a first step to enabling the region to connect to the global communications system.

If the submission is successful Council will look to the private sector to deliver an international broadband cable. Australia currently has five international cable connections with four entering the coast off Sydney and one into Perth.

Council sees this project as a digital game-changer for the Sunshine Coast and hopes to attract banking and finance, digital solutions developers, along with businesses and industries that are heavily dependent on online transactions. Economic modelling by the AEC group forecasts that the Sunshine Coast will generate $700 million every year as a result of the connection.

Queensland will also benefit from the infrastructure through increased speed and bandwidth, as well as less risk of disruption.

Council’s media release can be found here.