Breaking ground: How Project Horizon is changing remote WA

Vocus Group

Vocus Support

Breaking ground: How Project Horizon is changing remote WA

Posted on 08 May 2025 in Blog

By Matt Walsh, Vocus Chief Customer Officer

Have you ever stood in the middle of Australia’s outback and wondered how communities and industries operate in such isolation? For many people and businesses across Western Australia's remote regions, this isn't just an occasional inconvenience – it's a daily reality. It’s the lack of critical connectivity that the rest of us take for granted every day that makes Project Horizon so important.

Right now, we're cutting trenches and laying fibre through some of Australia's harshest terrain to bring the first competitive fibre backbone through Western Australia.

Walking alongside our construction teams recently, the scale of what we're building really hit me. This isn't just another network expansion – we’re building vital connections that will unlock new opportunities for these communities and industries.

Building critical connections through Western Australia’s unforgiving outback.

Extreme terrain, extraordinary resilience

It’s hard to overstate how tough the environment is out there. The intense heat, pervasive dust, and extreme remoteness of the land we are working on make this an exceptionally challenging environment for construction.

The thermometer hit 46°C during my recent site visit and dust infiltrated everything.

In conditions like this, health and safety is paramount and cannot be an afterthought. With heavy machinery, specialised tools, and long days under the sun, it was reassuring to see our robust systems and a strong safety culture in action, keeping our team safe every day.

Safety in action: Members of the Project Horizon team partaking in their daily standup where they review recent safety incidents, identify potential hazards, and align on safe work practices before beginning the day's activities.

Transforming connectivity in remote Western Australia

The demand for reliable, high-speed connectivity has never been greater – especially in the resources sector. Mining operations are increasingly automated and reliant on cloud and remote capabilities, and they are turning to Vocus for reliable, high-speed solutions that work not just at their mine gates but also across the entire sites and in field vehicles. Our fibre network, combined with our expertise in private wireless solutions and ruggedised Starlink solutions are meeting those needs and helping create new digital pathways across the Pilbara and beyond.

Breaking ground to carve digital pathways in Western Australia.

Laying the foundations for something truly significant

I’m really proud of the work we’re doing in setting the stage for a transformative future for Australia’s digital infrastructure, and the impact it will deliver for this region.

As Project Horizon continues, our vision is clear: to deliver reliable, high-quality connectivity that unlocks new business possibilities across the region and helps power growth across remote Western Australia.

The sheer scale of mining equipment in the outback: Matt Walsh, Chief Customer Officer and Jarrod Nink, Interim Chief Executive Officer pictured in front of the Caterpillar Rigid Dump Truck.

Matt Walsh, Chief Customer Officer

Matt is Vocus’ Chief Customer Officer, with responsibility for customer and fibre infrastructure delivery and assurance, and stewardship of the Workplace Health and Safety for the organisation. He has 20 years of experience in the Australian telecommunications industry, with a distinct focus on delivering outstanding customer experiences, disciplined operation, and a commitment to continuous improvement.