Aussie telco giant Telstra has launched a new 100 gbps (100G Wavelength) service across a number of its long-haul submarine cables, citing the need to accommodate the growth of cloud-based data operators and more generally the need to keep up with exponentially growing data consumption.

“As the volume of data generated and consumed worldwide continues to increase exponentially, it’s critical the infrastructure responsible for delivering it can cater to this need,” said Darrin Webb, Chief Operating Officer of Telstra Global Enterprise & Services.

“However the move to 100G is much more than just raw capacity. Alongside enhanced efficiency, 100G can help customers reduce operational expenditure and simplify network maintenance thanks to the service’s ability to consolidate bandwidths. It is also flexible enough to meet the requirements of most cable companies by offering landing station and point of presence options too.”

The specific cables receiving the service are: the Asia America Gateway (AAG Dedicated Fiber Pair), which connects Hawaii with mainland US; the Reach North Asia Loop (RNAL), that travels between Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea; Telstra Endeavour, which connects Sydney to Hawaii; the Australia-Japan Cable (AJC); and UNITY, which links Japan and the US.

There was more of the standard commentary about what great news this is for Telstra customers, but with data consumption forecasted to continue to grow exponentially for the foreseeable future, upgrading core capacity would seem to be a no-brainer.