Telstra launches longest Aura network route connecting Perth and Sydney – Unite.AI

Telstra launched the Perth-Sydney route of its Aura network on 7 October 2026, the longest route in the operator’s national intercity fiber network, extending high-capacity connectivity between Western Australia, eastern states and international markets as part of a broader $1.8 billion investment in Australia’s digital infrastructure.

The new route strengthens Australia’s east-west digital corridor, connecting major clouds, data centers and business hubs in Australia’s eastern states to Perth and western global submarine cable networks. Telstra Digital Infrastructure said Aura Network offers organizations greater capacity and diversity of paths to move data across the country and connect with international markets.

Status of network creation and design

The Perth-Sydney activation marks another construction milestone, with 9,000 kilometers built of the 14,000 kilometers planned and active routes across Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Telstra says the network is designed to provide up to 35 times more fiber capacity per route and greater resilience than conventional fiber routes. The Aura network was previously known as the intercity fiber network.

Telstra InfraCo’s product materials listed Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne Coastal, Sydney-Canberra Central, Sydney-Perth Direct and Adelaide-Wilmington Direct among the network’s service-ready routes as of September 2026. The same materials place built fiber at more than 8,500 kilometers as of July 2026 and describe the network as designed to support up to 6.3 times more terabits per second capacity than the existing architecture industry standard fiber network.

The network is built with two separate fiber routes, according to Telstra InfraCo’s Aura Network documentation. An express route uses Corning SMF-28 ULL with Advanced Bend, an ultra-low-loss fiber that provides high bandwidth between capital cities and international submarine cable landing stations. A foundation route uses Prysmian BBA2-LL low-loss fibre, with on- and off-ramps supporting connectivity to regional Australia. Perth’s listed undersea connecting points reach Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Sydney.

Organizations can purchase access to a dedicated portion of the network, customize and scale capacity as needed, or take advantage of a fully managed service. Three products operate on the network: Aura Wavelength, a fully managed point-to-point service at 100 Gbps and 400 Gbps; Aura Direct Spectrum, a semi-managed option that delivers an eighth, quarter, or half pair of fibers at speeds ranging from approximately 3.8 Tbps to 15.2 Tbps; and Aura Dark Fiber, a fully customer-managed option that moves data at speeds of around 60 Tbps to 80 Tbps between capital cities. Telstra InfraCo says a desktop simulation of the ultra-low-loss express link from Sydney to Melbourne has established a long-distance fiber capacity benchmark of more than 83 Tbps per fiber pair in May 2024.

Demand for cloud and artificial intelligence

Telstra said the network is already supporting demand from cloud, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure providers, with organizations including Microsoft and Google securing capacity on the Aura network. Microsoft’s Australian data centers are connected via the Aura network, according to Telstra InfraCo.

Steven Worrall, CEO of Telstra Digital Infrastructure, said Western Australia is home to some of the most geographically distributed and technology-intensive industries in the world, from remote operations centers to increasingly automated mining and industrial operations. As these industries become more data-driven, he said, the connectivity that links them to customers, partners, cloud and computers is becoming as important as the technology deployed on the ground. “Western Australia is increasingly emerging as a strategic digital and defense hub in the Indo-Pacific, which makes this investment in new, resilient, low-latency infrastructure even more strategic,” Worrall said in the launch announcement.

Worrall also said cloud, AI and data centers are changing where and how data is generated, processed and consumed, and that resilient connections between Australia’s major digital hubs will be increasingly important as that demand grows.

Oxford Economic Research

The launch coincided with new Oxford Economics research commissioned by Telstra. The report, Australia’s Western Gateway: WA’s Digital Opportunityestimates Western Australia’s digital economy contributed $16.8 billion to gross value added in fiscal 2024-25 and could reach approximately $89.1 billion by fiscal 2040 under an accelerated digital adoption scenario, equivalent to approximately 10% of gross state product and supporting approximately 195,000 jobs, according to a summary published by Telstra InfraCo.

A methodology note in the announcement defines WA’s digital economy as the core digital sector plus digitally enabled businesses in other sectors, and describes the accelerated scenario as the additional opportunity available if WA increases its digital intensity and closes some of the gap with Australia’s leading digital economies. Modeling links increased fiber capacity to gross state product and job creation through increased adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies.

Oxford Economics estimates the Perth-Sydney and Perth-Adelaide routes could support an increase of around $3.7 billion in WA’s gross state product by fiscal 2040, rising to around $6.4 billion and supporting around 18,500 jobs if the potential routes are confirmed. The report finds WA has a strong foundation in human capital and established digital tools, but lags behind the national average in adopting advanced capabilities including artificial intelligence and data analytics. It identifies six enablers for coordinated action: continued infrastructure investment, business adoption, workforce skills, stronger innovation ecosystems, supportive planning and regulation, and attracting targeted investment.