21 January 2025 – Telstra International, the global arm of telecommunications and technology company Telstra, has announced its vision and roadmap for the international network, aligning with Telstra’s broader strategy to develop a highly autonomous network that aims to transform customers’ experiences in a zero-touch, secure, and resilient way.
As part of its ambitious plan, Telstra International is upgrading its subsea cable infrastructure to over 800 Tbps of total lit capacity, to meet customers’ increasing bandwidth consumption, data centre demands and growth in global backbone networks fueled by cloud and AI applications across key global routes, including intra-Asia, Transpacific, and Asia to Australia.
The upgraded network utilises the latest optical technology from Infinera and Ciena.
Telstra International is using Infinera’s solution to cloudify the infrastructure layer with decoupled software and hardware that will significantly increase the available subsea and backhaul capacity with greater flexibility. This is also foundational to Telstra International’s plan for a highly autonomous network.
“With the scale of our subsea network in the Pacific, this move will better position us to ensure the stability of the world’s digital connectivity, and support the future growth of local economies,” said Roary Stasko, CEO Telstra International.
“As network operators look to upgrade their networks to meet rapidly increasing customer bandwidth demands, flexible compact modular solutions like Infinera’s GX platform play a critical role in delivering scalable, high-performance, and cost-effective optical transport solutions for subsea networks, while also supporting multiple generations of embedded optical engines,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales at Infinera. “We are excited to partner with Telstra to upgrade and modernize its network, enabling them to increase capacity and offer a new kind of network with predictive capabilities and powered by AI.”
Progressing towards a highly autonomous network
In addition to ensuring sufficient capacity for future customer needs and cloudifying the infrastructure layer, Telstra International’s autonomous network will be able to configure, monitor, and maintain itself by using modern technologies including built-in AI, machine learning (ML) and cognitive computing.
Telstra International has reached foundational milestones on this journey with the simplification of its network architecture, the removal of legacy platforms and the introduction of next generation network inventory and management systems using Ciena’s Blue Planet inventory management. AI, ML and cognitive computing will be implemented over the next five years for network self-management and standard-based APIs will simplify interoperability, enabling the faster roll-out of innovative solutions and improving customer experiences.
“Telstra International is making significant strides toward a highly autonomous and adaptive network, and Blue Planet will support this transformation by providing intelligent automation for its multi-vendor network and services. This collaboration is helping Telstra accelerate its journey towards AI-driven operations, improving both service delivery and customer experiences,” said Joe Cumello, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Blue Planet, a division of Ciena.
“Our vision represents a fundamental shift in how we manage and operate our international network. By focusing on intent-driven outcomes, we are paving the way for a more resilient, efficient, and customer-centric network.
“We expect to see traffic grow at a much faster rate, at least three times by 2030, with the development of AI which drives the need for more capacity and a network that covers vast areas of society. In order to deliver this, we need a step change. We are transforming our network at all layers and innovating with strategic partners to apply the principles of virtualised and cloud technologies to the network,” said Stasko.
Central to the network vision is quality data and inventory management, and the development of a digital twin of Telstra International’s network infrastructure. This digital twin will act as a virtual replica of the physical network, enabling real-time monitoring, simulation, and optimisation of network operations. By harnessing the power of AI, ML and cognitive computing, the digital twin will provide unparalleled insights into network performance, facilitating proactive management and continuous improvement.
“By 2030 we will have built a highly autonomous network able to detect underutilised routes and turn capacity up or down or respond to changes or detect vulnerabilities such as temperature levels and move traffic off those to avoid outages. AI and ML give us the opportunity to strengthen our network defence. Underpinning this technology is our people who develop the models and patterns that drive AI and ML,” said Stasko.
#####
Media Contact
Babel PR
telstra@babelpr.com
About Telstra International
Telstra is a leading telecommunications and technology company with a proudly Australian heritage and a longstanding, growing international business. Telstra International empowers enterprise, government, carrier, and OTT customers with innovative technology solutions. These services are underpinned by our wholly owned subsea cable network, which is the largest in Asia Pacific and includes more than 30 cable systems spanning over 400,000 km, with access to multiple cable landing stations and more than 2,000 points of presence around the world. For more information, please visit telstrainternational.com