Tuesday, 15 September
Astra Aerolab has cemented its place as the pre-eminent space for innovation, announcing it has entered into an agreement with Leading Edge Data Centres to seek the establishment of a dedicated world class data centre onsite at Williamtown.
The proposed data centre, Leading Edge Data Centres’ second for the region, will provide existing airport tenants, the wider airport precinct and future tenants superior connectivity, and access to a dedicated and local world class Tier III data centre.
Designed to be ‘carrier agnostic’, Leading Edge Data Centres offer a range of network services, utilising dark fibre and major telecommunication connections, while leveraging partnerships with several other carriers. The facility will also offer direct cloud access to all major cloud environments including AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Newcastle Airport CEO, Dr Peter Cock says the partnership would assist in delivering the Astra Aerolab vision of offering global opportunities to the local region.
“Our fundamental vision for Astra Aerolab is to deliver something unique in the Defence and Aerospace industry - a place specifically designed to foster collaboration and innovation.
“Our agreement with Leading Edge Data Centres sets Astra Aerolab apart by enabling direct cloud access from the onsite data centre. This ensures data remains secure locally, negating any need for sensitive data to be re-routed via Sydney, as is the current process,” says Dr Cock.
“As you can imagine, this is incredibly important for Defence industries,” he added.
Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer welcomed the announcement of this substantial investment in Port Stephens and the Hunter region.
“This exciting new partnership with Leading Edge highlights the significance of Astra Aerolab as a growing defence and aviation precinct.”
“Astra Aerolab and the Williamtown Special Activation Precinct will create new opportunities for employment, education and innovation across the entire Hunter region. It’s great to see this recognised by Leading Edge Data Centres,” Mayor Palmer said.
Chris Thorpe, CEO of Leading Edge Data Centres says, "We’re proud to provide world-class infrastructure to support innovation and growth across aviation, defence and aerospace industries.
“Our data centre will enable direct private connections to all the leading cloud providers, in the most efficient, secure, and resilient manner possible. We’re looking forward to working closely with the Astra Aerolab team on this important initiative within the Hunter Region."
Leading Edge Data Centres will design the data centre and will undertake all planning and civil building works.
Ends.