Washington H Soul Pattinson backs Leading Edge Data Centres

By Stuart Corner

ASX listed investment house, Washington H Soul Pattinson, has invested $20 million in Leading Edge Data Centres to fund a network of regional edge computing data centres around Australia.

Leading Edge says it will build a network of 20 world-class tier three data centres across regional Australia to provide faster internet speeds and direct cloud connectivity for regional areas, starting with Newcastle and Tamworth in NSW.

The data centres are prefabricated and built in Newcastle NSW.

The company said it had also gained an, unspecified, investment as part of SparkLabs Cultiv8 2020 accelerator group – an Asia Pacific acceleration programme based out of regional NSW.

Leading Edge said its regional data centres will enable faster computing by locally hosting applications, whether for content hosting and distribution, IoT data processing, digital mapping, AgTech, autonomous machinery, telehealth, or telecommunications.

“This, among others also helps take the load out of the existing backhaul networks.

“They also provide the ability to reduce network latency for internet intensive activities like remote working, teleconferencing and home education – practices which have been rapidly accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Data centres in three states planned

The company says its data centre are designed for the co-location environment, prefabricated and built in Newcastle NSW and available in sizes from 30 or 75 racks.

Rollout will start with 75-Rack edge hubs across NSW, with Newcastle and Tamworth sites expected to be ready towards the end of the year.

Albury, Wagga Wagga, Parkes, Dubbo, and Coffs Harbour are to be live by May 2021 and Leading Edge plans to open data centres in Victoria and Queensland in 2021 and 22.

Edge computing is hot

On its blog, in November 2019 Leading Edge highlighted the growth of edge computing in the US, saying the “growing investment in, and use of edge networks and small yet nimble edge data centres,” was “a tech trend in the US that Australian organisations should be excited about.”

Stuart Corner is editor of IoT Australia.

Picture: Leading Edge

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