A new subsea cable named TalayLink is under construction to connect Australia and Thailand. Designed to expand international internet reach and improve connection stability across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, TalayLink will strengthen digital infrastructure and support growing demand for cloud and AI services.
The name TalayLink derives from the Thai word for “sea.” The cable will interconnect with the interlink announced last year as part of the Australia Connect initiative. Rather than following the heavily trafficked cable corridors, TalayLink will take a route through the Indian Ocean west of the Sunda Strait. This alternative pathway provides Thailand with an additional landing point and reduces reliance on existing congested routes, supporting future data centres and a planned cloud region in the country.
Complementing the cable are plans for two new connectivity hubs: one in Mandurah, Western Australia, and another in southern Thailand. These hubs are intended to meet the region’s long-term internet capacity needs and enable delivery of digital and AI services by providing cable switching, content caching, and colocation facilities.
The Mandurah hub will act as an alternate landing site to Perth, which currently hosts the majority of subsea cable landings in Western Australia. Creating a second landing point increases redundancy and resilience for networks serving the western coast. In southern Thailand, implementation is expected to move more rapidly through a partnership with colocation provider AIS, which already operates relevant infrastructure and facilities.
TalayLink will be a pivotal piece of digital infrastructure for Thailand, enhancing both connectivity and resilience. Alongside Google’s planned Google Cloud region and data centre in Thailand, these investments will expand regional networking and compute capacity and strengthen Thailand’s role as a digital gateway for next-generation cloud and AI innovation across Southeast Asia.
“The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is fully committed to supporting Google’s investment in Thailand, fostering the growth of the nation’s digital economy, and advancing digital skills to ensure inclusive and sustainable development,” said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI).
Once TalayLink and the associated hubs are operational, they will reinforce internet connectivity among Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Paired with previously planned hubs for the Maldives and Christmas Island, these links will create new connection paths across the Indian Ocean and onward toward the Middle East, diversifying options for international traffic.
The projects also align with Western Australia’s digital strategy and Thailand’s national efforts to accelerate economic transformation through AI and broader digital access. The company leading the initiative says the goal is to foster economic and social development across Australia, Thailand, and Southeast Asia by delivering stable, high-capacity internet infrastructure.
(Photo by Compare Fibre)
Related coverage: Meta has also been expanding subsea cable networks to boost APAC connectivity.
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