New International Cable to Meet Demand for Trans-Pacific Bandwidth; China-US Submarine Cable Commissioned For Service.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2000

Telstra's investment in the 27,000 km China-US submarine telecommunications cable came to fruition this week when the cable was commissioned for service.

The China-US cable provides a much-needed additional link between Australia, Asia and North America to meet the burgeoning demand for capacity to service fast and reliable global communication services fuelled by the ongoing rapid increase in take-up of Internet and data around the world.

Telstra was one of the first international telecommunication companies to invest in the planning and development of the new cable, which is the first to be activated across the north Pacific route since 1996.

According to John Hibbard, Telstra's Managing Director Global Wholesale, an unprecedented increase in demand for capacity over the past few years has led to extraordinary pressure being exerted on existing submarine cable systems.

&uot;Telstra became an early investor in the then proposed China-US cable, sensing some time ago that there would be a need for greatly increased capacity in the region. Capacity on the China-US cable's predecessor, TPC-5 (Trans-Pacific Cable No. 5), was already reaching saturation point only two years after it came into service,&uot; Hibbard said.

&uot;For some time, carriers on both sides of the Pacific have been keen to launch a new state-of-the-art cable system to follow TPC-5.

&uot;The China-US cable has been commissioned for service at precisely the right time to meet the increased bandwidth requirements in this region.&uot;

Hibbard explained that Telstra's investment in the China-US and other cable systems, including the Australia-Japan cable to be commissioned next year, is consistent with the company's strategy of using the Asian 'onramp' to access the so-called Northern Highway(1) which feeds into countries on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

&uot;Until now, using APCN (Asia-Pacific Cable Network) and SEA-ME-WE 3 (Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe No. 3) cables has provided the most economical path for Australia to the USA. When the Australia-Japan cable comes on line next year, the loop will be closed and Australia will have access to truly global connectivity at very competitive rates,&uot; he said.

Other principal members of the China-US cable consortium include AT& (USA), China Telecom, HKTI (Hong Kong), ITDC (Taiwan), Japan Telecom, KDD (Japan), Korea Telecom, MCII (USA), NTT Japan, SBCI (USA), Singapore Telecom, Sprint (USA), Star (USA), Teleglobe (Canada) and Telekom Malaysia.

The cable connects China, Korea, Japan, USA, Guam, Taiwan and, via connecting cable systems, into other parts of Asia and Europe.

The China-US cable consists of four fibre pairs, each operating at 20 gigabits/sec, which is expected to meet demand for the next several years.

The China-US cable network will be completed in two phases. The first phase (a single submarine cable link between China and USA) has been made available for commercial service this week.

The second phase, anticipated for completion later this year, will see the establishment of a second leg between China and USA. The network will then be configured as a full ring system -- its final configuration (see cable map attached). Capacity on China-US will be accessed from Australia via the SEA-ME-WE 3, APCN and Australia-Japan cables.

&uot;Telstra's continued investment in modern cables such as China-US and Japan-US has and will continue to provide a valuable inventory of capacity which is expected to meet Telstra's core and global subsidiary needs for the next several years,&uot; Hibbard said.

(1) Northern Highway is the name given to the system of existing and planned trans-Pacific submarine telecommunications cables between North Asia and North America.

Telstra Corporation Limited is the leading fully integrated, full service electronic communications and information services provider in Australia, and a major telecommunications player in the Asia Pacific region. Drawing on its 50 year-involvement in the global telecommunications industry, Telstra provides expert advice on worldwide networking to international and multinational companies.

Telstra owns and operates one of the most technologically advanced networks, offering end-to-end solutions ranging from broadband, IP, mobile and intelligent network services, to voice and data network hubs, call centers, and advanced multimedia and e-commerce applications. A top tier global carrier with annual revenue of A$18.2 billion (US$11 billion), Telstra placed 62nd in Business Week's 1999 Global 1000 ranking of the world's most valuable companies by market value.

Telstra's wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Telstra Inc, is based in San Francisco with representatives in several major U.S. cities from coast to coast. Additional information about Telstra and its services is available by calling 1-877-Telstra or viewing Telstra on the World Wide Web at http://www.telstra.com.