Google Cloud has unveiled plans for a new subsea system, TalayLink, which will connect Australia to Thailand as part of the company’s wider Australia Connect initiative to expand infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific.

The new route will cross the Indian Ocean west of the Sunda Strait, providing an additional path into Thailand and improving integration with Google’s planned data centres and cloud region in the country, said Nikash Koley, Google Cloud VP of global infrastructure.

TalayLink will be supported by two new Google connectivity hubs - one in Mandurah, Western Australia, and another in South Thailand. The facilities will provide cable switching, caching and colocation capabilities to strengthen regional resilience and support growing demand for cloud and AI services.

Google is partnering with AIS on the Thailand hub, while International Gateway Company (IGC), a subsidiary of ALT Telecom, will assist with the cable landing. Mandurah will provide a diverse alternative to existing landing points near Perth, while South Thailand is already a subsea cable crossroads.

Google did not disclose a completion date. The company said TalayLink, together with planned hubs in the Maldives and Christmas Island, will enhance network resilience across Australia, Southeast Asia, Africa and onward to the Middle East.

Thailand Board of Investment secretary general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said the cable would form “a pivotal piece of digital infrastructure” that supports Thailand’s ambitions to become a regional gateway for cloud and AI services.