Italy’s Prysmian announced an expansion to the company’s optical cable manufacturing plant in Australia to help meet the needs of Telstra InfraCo, a key, long-time customer.

A press release said that Prysmian will expand the plant that is in Dee Why in New South Wales (NSW). Prysmian will enhance and increase the production of locally made state-of-the-art cable for Telstra’s intercity fiber network.

Telstra InfraCo is building an intercity fiber network in response to the ever-growing demands for fast and capable digital networks. Prysmian has been Telstra’s strategic cable partner since 1998 and over that time Prysmian has invested more than A$20 million in the NSW Australian production facility. “We are continually evolving our products and capabilities to maintain our leadership in telecom cables in the region. With comprehensive local manufacturing, product development, services and logistics backed by global strength, Prysmian is uniquely placed as Telstra’s sole strategic supplier of cable. Telstra is one of only a small number of Prysmian’s globally strategic customers.”

“The intercity fiber network project will future-proof Australia’s connectivity needs for the next 20+ years,” said Brendon Riley, Telstra InfraCo CEO. “We have already laid hundreds of kilometers of cables across the country and have commenced planning on several new fiber routes that will see all mainland capital cities connected.”

“This significant investment into Australian-based skills, R&D, and manufacturing is the result of two years of collaborative research and development,” said Frederick Persson, executive vice president digital solutions at Prysmian. “Together with Telstra, we have designed a world leading fiber optic cable that will support the current and future demand for high capacity, low-latency fiber networks in Australia.

The new fiber optic cable is 59% smaller and 54% lighter than the previous design employed across Telstra’s existing fiber network. The reduced size and weight avoid CO2 during cable production and transportation which is estimated to be approximately 35,000 metric tons over the length of the project. To support the rollout of this large project, Prysmian has invested in three key areas of production to significantly increase the capacity of the Dee Why based facility.