Southern Cross Cable Network
Southern Cross Cable Network operates three subsea fibre-optic cable systems (SX 1/2, NEXT, and planned Tasman Express) connecting Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the US West Coast, selling dark-fibre IRUs, spectrum capacity, and 100 Mbps-to-400 GbE managed services to carriers, ISPs, content providers and hyper-scalers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersHamilton, Bermuda
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Southern Cross Cable Network does
Southern Cross Cables Limited is the operator of the Southern Cross Cable Network, a privately held subsea fibre-optic infrastructure business headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and jointly owned by Spark, SingTel/Optus, Telstra, and Verizon. Founded in 1997 and in service since November 2000, the company operates an eco-system of three diverse submarine cable systems — SX 1 (South) and SX 2 (North), the Southern Cross NEXT cable (live since July 2022), and the planned Tasman Express cable (targeted 2028) — connecting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Pacific Islands (Kiribati, Tokelau), and the US West Coast across approximately 49,300 km of submarine cable plus ~4,300 km of terrestrial fibre, with over 100 Tbps of potential capacity across the network.
The company monetizes its infrastructure through three primary service lines: (1) dark-fibre IRU ownership agreements of 10+ years giving customers full end-to-end control, (2) Spectrum-as-a-Service offering fractional 25%/50% access to fibre pairs under long-term IRUs, and (3) managed Layer 1 OTN and Layer 2 Ethernet capacity services from 100 Mbps to 400 GbE sold directly and via resale channel partners. Customers are predominantly Tier-1 telecommunications carriers, content providers, ISPs, and increasingly hyper-scalers and cloud providers requiring data-centre-to-data-centre connectivity between Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles. Technical differentiation rests on Ciena's WaveLogic 5/6 Extreme coherent optics (world's first 1 Tb/s transpacific single-carrier wavelength achieved in January 2025), ultra-low latency (~66 msec Sydney-Los Angeles on NEXT, ~11–12 msec on Tasman Express), and a dense ecosystem of 11 cable stations and 12+ data-centre PoPs interconnected via backhaul partners such as Equinix, CoreSite, Verizon, Lumen, AT&T, Optus, Telstra, Vocus and Spark.
Southern Cross is run by a lean team of 11–50 employees with over 100 years of combined telecom experience, supports a 24/7 Network Operating Centre in Auckland, and distributes through direct sales and a resale partner channel. Notable execution milestones include the 2022 NEXT launch, 400GbE Layer 1 services in January 2023, 400GbE Layer 2 services in May 2023, the 1 Tb/s transmission achievement in January 2025, and the Tasman Express supply contracts with ASN and OMS Group signed in June 2025, signalling a pipeline of capacity expansion through 2028 to meet growing AI- and cloud-driven trans-Pacific bandwidth demand.
Southern Cross Cable Network firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Southern Cross Cable Network
- Legal name
- Southern Cross Cables Limited
- Website
- https://southerncrosscables.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Southern Cross Cable Network operates three subsea fibre-optic cable systems (SX 1/2, NEXT, and planned Tasman Express) connecting Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the US West Coast, selling dark-fibre IRUs, spectrum capacity, and 100 Mbps-to-400 GbE managed services to carriers, ISPs, content providers and hyper-scalers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Southern Cross Cable Network industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Submarine Cable Telecommunications Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment) (HDAIALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations) (HDAIAEAI), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI), Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect) (HDAIALAJ)
Keywords
Where Southern Cross Cable Network is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamilton
- HQ country
- Bermuda
Offices4 records
Markets served
Southern Cross Cable Network business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Capacity Services: Managed services providing dedicated bandwidth including OTN, Ethernet Layer 1 & 2 services. SX reserves capacity across the eco-system exclusively for the ordered service bandwidth, ensuring guaranteed service for the contract duration. Available in unprotected, restored, protected and multi-drop configurations.
- Dark Fibre Ownership: Long-term IRU (Indefeasible Right of Use) agreements spanning 10 years or more for dark fibre ownership. Customers deploy their own transmission equipment and manage infrastructure as their own.
- Spectrum Ownership: Spectrum-as-a-Service model offering fractional access (25% or 50%) to subsea fibre pairs with long-term IRU agreements providing financial predictability and operational stability.
- Professional and Support Services: NOC support services, co-location options at cable stations, Remote Hands support, and professional services including design, procurement, and turnkey subsea project support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Capacity services from 100Mbps to 400Gbps |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Dark fibre ownership with long-term IRU |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Spectrum ownership at 25% or 50% fractional access |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Southern Cross Cable Network product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Southern Cross Cable Network owns and operates a subsea fibre optic cable eco-system of three diverse routes connecting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands to the US West Coast. It wholesales international connectivity to carriers, ISPs, hyperscalers and large enterprises through three structured product lines: Dark Fibre (long-term IRU ownership of fibre pairs), Spectrum-as-a-Service (fractional 25% or 50% fibre pair access), and managed Capacity services (Layer 1 OTN and Layer 2 Ethernet from 100 Mbps to 400 Gbps), supported by 24/7 NOC operations.
Product overview
Southern Cross Cable Network operates a submarine cable ecosystem comprising three diverse routes connecting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, and Pacific Islands to the US West Coast. The core infrastructure includes the original SX 1 (South) & SX 2 (North) cables (operational since 2000), the Southern Cross NEXT cable (launched 2022), and the planned Tasman Express cable (targeting 2028). Service offerings include dark fibre ownership, spectrum sharing (25%/50% fractional access), and managed capacity services (OTN/Ethernet from 100Mbps to 400Gbps). The ecosystem provides connectivity through 11 cable stations and 12+ data centre PoPs across Oceania and the US West Coast.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Southern Cross NEXT: The latest low latency, high-capacity cable linking datacentres in Sydney, Australia; Los Angeles, USA; and Auckland, New Zealand, along with connections to Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati.
- Tasman Express
- SX 1 (South) & 2 (North)
Products and services
- SX 1 (South) & SX 2 (North) Submarine Cable System Original twin submarine cable system operational since November 2000, providing resilient and protected capacity between Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, and the US West Coast, configured for diversity and redundancy with capacity from 100 Mbps to 400 GbE. Only system capable of single-vendor protected and diverse subsea solutions between Australasia and the US.
- Southern Cross NEXT Cable System High-performance submarine cable providing ultra-low latency connectivity between Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles, with branches to Fiji (Suva and Savusavu), Tokelau and Kiribati. Capable of >22 Tbps per fibre pair across a 13,500 km single optical span, with ~66 ms Sydney-to-Los Angeles latency.
- Fibre (Dark Fibre Ownership) Dark fibre offering on the Southern Cross network providing customers with full end-to-end ownership of fibre pairs under long-term IRU agreements of 10+ years. Customers manage infrastructure as their own, deploy preferred transmission equipment, configure capacity and commercialise unused bandwidth.
- Spectrum (Spectrum-as-a-Service) Spectrum-as-a-Service offering fractional access to subsea fibre pairs as 25% or 50% portions, available in fully managed or unmanaged options. Provides dedicated, isolated traffic access for customers with Open Cable System architecture compatible with future submarine line terminals, structured via 10+ year IRU agreements.
- Capacity (OTN, Ethernet) including 400GbE End-to-end managed Layer 1 (OTN) and Layer 2 (Ethernet) capacity services from 100 Mbps to 400 Gbps. Includes Australasia's first international 400GbE Layer 1 and Layer 2 services, available in unprotected, restored, protected and multi-drop configurations with guaranteed bandwidth for the contract duration, and purchasable directly from Southern Cross or via resale channel partners.
- Network Support Services 24/7 Network Operating Centre (NOC) support services, co-location options at cable stations (Alexandria, Brookvale, Kahe Point), Remote Hands support, and professional services including network design, procurement, and turnkey subsea project support. Aimed at carriers, ISPs and hyperscalers operating on or alongside Southern Cross infrastructure.
Quantifiable outcome
- World's first 1 Tb/s transmission across 13,500km live production network
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Southern Cross Cable Network
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Southern Cross Cable Network technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Southern Cross Cable Network partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)coreSubsea cable supply partner for Tasman Express project providing state-of-the-art subsea technology including Open Cable System architecture compatible with future submarine line terminals. ASN has over 160 years of history and 80% ownership by French State Investment Agency.
- OMS GroupcoreMarine installation partner for Tasman Express project using latest fleet of vessels. OMS Group is a global neutral integrated telecommunications infrastructure service provider with end-to-end submarine cable installation, marine maintenance, and cable landing station capabilities.
- Digicel FijiminorJoint partnership for Project Semata - digital inclusion initiative providing internet access to three schools in Savusavu, Fiji. Digicel Fiji provides network connectivity while Southern Cross enables high-speed connectivity through NEXT cable.
- CienacoreTechnology partner providing 6500 Packet-Optical Platform powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme and later WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optics for Southern Cross network. Enabled world's first 1 Tb/s transpacific transmission and 400GbE services. Ciena also partners on digital inclusion initiatives.
- OptusminorBackhaul provider at Alexandria cable station in Australia. Provides terrestrial backhaul connectivity services.
- TelstraminorBackhaul provider at Alexandria cable station in Australia. Provides terrestrial backhaul connectivity services.
- VocusminorBackhaul provider at Alexandria cable station in Australia. Provides terrestrial backhaul connectivity services.
- VerizonminorBackhaul provider at CoreSite SV1 data centre in San Jose. Provides terrestrial connectivity services.
- LumenminorBackhaul provider at CoreSite SV1 data centre. Provides terrestrial connectivity services.
- SparkminorBackhaul provider at Mayoral Drive data centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Also an investor in Southern Cross.
- 2degreesminorBackhaul provider at Whenuapai cable station in New Zealand.
- ACSDataminorBackhaul provider at Whenuapai cable station in New Zealand.
- EquinixminorData centre operator partner with multiple PoP locations (LA1, LA4, SV1, SV8, SY1, SY5) providing backhaul services.
- CoreSiteminorData centre operator partner with PoP locations (LA1, LA2, SV1) providing backhaul services for Southern Cross connectivity.
- Vector CommunicationsminorBackhaul provider at Takapuna cable station in New Zealand.
- AT&TminorBackhaul provider at Hillsboro cable station in Oregon, USA.
- ACS AlaskaminorBackhaul provider at Hillsboro cable station in Oregon, USA.
- FintelminorBackhaul provider at Savusavu cable station in Fiji.
- CalianminorBackhaul provider at Kahe Point cable station in Hawaii.
- BNL (Telecom Kiribati)minorBackhaul provider at Kiribati cable station.
Scale indicators19 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Southern Cross Cable Network competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Verizon Business: Verizon owns and operates subsea cable capacity globally (including through its SCCL stake) and sells wholesale wavelengths and managed network services to carriers and enterprises — directly comparable to SCCL's wholesale subsea proposition.
- Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications): Singtel/Optus invests in multiple subsea cable consortiums across Asia-Pacific (including SCCL) and sells wholesale capacity and managed services to carriers — comparable as a regional telco incumbent with subsea wholesale operations.
- Tata Communications: Tata Communications owns the TGN global subsea cable network and sells wholesale capacity, wavelength, and managed services to carriers and enterprises worldwide — a broader incumbent competing with SCCL on transpacific and intra-Asia routes.
- Telstra International: Telstra operates subsea cable assets and wholesale capacity services across the Asia-Pacific and trans-Pacific, while also being one of SCCL's four owners — a comparable carrier-scale subsea operator with overlapping customer reach.
- NTT Communications (NTT Ltd): NTT operates one of the world's largest subsea cable footprints and offers wholesale capacity, wavelength, and managed network services globally, overlapping with SCCL's carrier/enterprise wholesale proposition.
Others
- Ciena: Ciena is SCCL's core technology partner supplying the WaveLogic coherent optics and 6500 Packet-Optical Platform that power the 400GbE and 1 Tb/s services — not a competitor but an enabling technology supplier to the subsea industry.
- Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN): ASN is the subsea cable system supplier contracted to build Tasman Express and a leading wet-plant vendor to the global subsea industry — comparable as an ecosystem participant rather than a service competitor.
Direct peers
- Seaborn Networks: Seaborn operates subsea cable systems (e.g., Seabras-1) and provides wholesale capacity, spectrum, and fibre services to carriers and content providers — the same B2B infrastructure model SCCL uses in the Pacific.
- Aqua Comms: Aqua Comms owns and operates subsea cable capacity wholesale businesses (e.g., AEC-1, AEC-2, CeltixConnect-2) and sells spectrum, dark fibre, and managed capacity under multi-year IRUs — a directly comparable business model to SCCL's services portfolio.
- Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP: Hawaiki operates a transpacific subsea cable system directly competing with SCCL on the Australia/New Zealand-to-US corridor, offering similar wholesale capacity, spectrum, and fibre IRU products to carriers and hyperscalers.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Southern Cross Cable Network social profiles
Digital presenceSouthern Cross Cable Network financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Southern Cross Cable Network leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Southern Cross Cable Network subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Southern Cross Cable Network funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Southern Cross Cable Network M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Southern Cross Cable Network
What does Southern Cross Cable Network do?
Southern Cross Cable Network owns and operates a subsea fibre optic cable eco-system of three diverse routes connecting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands to the US West Coast. It wholesales international connectivity to carriers, ISPs, hyperscalers and large enterprises through three structured product lines: Dark Fibre (long-term IRU ownership of fibre pairs), Spectrum-as-a-Service (fractional 25% or 50% fibre pair access), and managed Capacity services (Layer 1 OTN and Layer 2 Ethernet from 100 Mbps to 400 Gbps), supported by 24/7 NOC operations.
Is Southern Cross Cable Network a public or private company?
Southern Cross Cable Network is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Southern Cross Cable Network founded?
Southern Cross Cable Network was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Southern Cross Cable Network based?
Southern Cross Cable Network is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
How does Southern Cross Cable Network make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Capacity Services are the primary driver. The others are dark Fibre Ownership, spectrum Ownership and professional and Support Services.
Who are Southern Cross Cable Network's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Verizon Business, Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications), Tata Communications, Telstra International and NTT Communications (NTT Ltd). Others are Ciena and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). Direct peers are Seaborn Networks, Aqua Comms and Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP.
Does Southern Cross Cable Network have an API?
No public API is recorded for Southern Cross Cable Network.
What industry is Southern Cross Cable Network in?
Southern Cross Cable Network's product category is Submarine Cable Telecommunications Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIALAA, Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment), with a secondary code of HDAIAEAI, Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations). Its NAICS code is 517111.