As Australia’s cities grow and infrastructure expands underground, the demand for durable, high-bandwidth cabling is only increasing. To keep critical systems running, Australia needs fibre cables that can survive some of the world’s harshest environments.
Connectivity infrastructure is a vital part of modern life. Many large infrastructure assets use or accommodate data networks, for traffic monitoring, video surveillance, or telecommunications.
To ensure the continued operability of these networks, asset managers must choose a fibre cable option that can withstand harsh conditions and demanding applications to meet the needs of asset users and owners.
Garland, a brand owned by Madison Express, has been providing armoured fibre cables engineered to withstand the country’s harshest environments for years.
Madison Express National Product Manager, George Karanikolaou, explained that Garland’s journey into the fibre optic market began over a decade ago.
“About 10 or 11 years ago, we decided to start progressing into the optical fibre market. Before then, we were predominantly a copper cable supplier, but we could see that fibre optic was a growth area,” Karanikolaou said.
Initially, Garland introduced products without armouring, but real-world challenges soon prompted a shift.
“For a lot of outdoor applications, there’s a real concern over rodents, particularly for infrastructure. The cables are placed in fairly large conduits and rodents like to run up and down these conduits, and they want to chew stuff, so we found the need to start to introduce a range of armoured cables for those applications.”
Built for the real world
Today, Garland’s armoured cables are found beside roads, rail corridors, and increasingly in tunnels; supporting high-bandwidth data networks for monitoring, automation and communications.
“There’s a big demand these days for monitoring of road systems and rail systems. This is all data-related monitoring, so they need cables to carry that data,” Karanikolaou said.
“Copper cables can carry data, but you’re limited by distance. Fibre optic is the preferred way to go, and the bandwidth of it is much larger too.
He said that with Australian cities growing, the ability to build above-ground roads is getting more and more limited.
“There are now more and more tunnels getting built, so we also have a range of armoured cables that are designed specifically for tunnels,” Karanikolaou said.
“We’re constantly developing new products to meet demands in new areas.”
Steel vs. non-metallic
Garland offers both steel wire armoured and non-metallic armoured fibre products.
The choice depends largely on the environment.
“Both steel wire and non-metallic armour provide protection against rodents. The steel is considered the best form of rodent protection. But we’ve also had our non-metallic fibre cables tested quite heavily against rodent attack, and they’ve been found to pass,” Karanikolaou said.
While steel armouring provides the most reliable protection against pesky pests, it presents unique challenges of its own.
“The problem with steel is, if you then put that cable next to a power cable, you’re going to induce a voltage on the steel. So that means that the steel’s got to be grounded at both ends of the cable which can be difficult. If you don’t ground it, then there’s a danger that there’ll be a voltage on the cable and that can cause problems in the system or be a safety hazard,” Karanikolaou said.
“By having non-metallic protection, you can avoid this issue entirely. It’s important to choose the type of armour based on the needs and conditions of the specific network.”
Committed to quality and innovation
Karanikolaou explained that Garland’s cables are tested against the Australian standard for rodent protection.
“That’s quite a stringent and difficult to meet standard. And we’ve shown that we can pass that.”
Garland’s cable armour has also been tested and certified to IEC standards for fire resistance and circuit integrity, and are water-blocked, UV-stabilised and have improved crush and impact resistance.
Karanikolaou said that the future of Garland’s armoured cables is all about innovation.
“We’re always working on trying to keep the size of the cable smaller. If you can reduce the amount of space that the cable takes up in the conduit, and still keep the bandwidth, then you get better flexibility of the installation which can make things much less costly and time consuming.”
Garland’s approach is shaped by a commitment to quality and environmental responsibility.
“We care for the environment. We want to make sure people are safe,” Karanikolaou said.
Smarter, safer cables for complex environments
Garland’s ongoing product development responds directly to the practical challenges faced by infrastructure owners and contractors.
From tunnelling projects to road upgrades, demand is growing for compact, customisable cables that integrate safety features without compromising performance.
“Conduit space is always at a premium,” Karanikolaou said.
“So we’re continually refining our designs to reduce the overall cable size while maintaining the bandwidth. That not only saves space – it makes installation quicker and more flexible.”
In Australia’s harsher climates and remote zones, Garland’s armoured fibre products are engineered with UV-stabilised jackets, impact resistance, and termite barriers.Even cockatoos, vandals and angle grinders are considered in the design.
Karanikolaou also pointed to the unique testing regime the company undertakes.
“We’ve tested our cables to Australian standards for rodent protection – and passed. For fire-rated cables, we follow international IEC standards, because the local ones don’t fully apply to optical fibre,” he said.
“If there’s no local benchmark, we’ll always source an appropriate international one. We want our customers to have confidence backed by test results, not just claims.”
Garland’s fire-rated range is expanding, driven by stricter building requirements and tunnel safety specifications.
“If the cable is part of an alarm system in a tunnel, it needs to function under fire conditions,” he said.
“We’re seeing growing demand for that.”
Building for what’s next
Karanikolaou said Garland’s customers often influence the product roadmap. In some cases, a custom cable developed for a specific project ends up becoming part of the standard range.
“If we build something bespoke and we start getting repeated requests for it, that’s our signal that it should be standard,” he said.
The trend toward fibre is also reshaping how infrastructure projects are planned and delivered.
Many clients now install more fibres than they immediately need – so-called “dark fibre” – to futureproof their networks.
“Swapping out electronics is easy. Replacing buried cable isn’t. So if you think you need 40 fibres now, it makes sense to install 96 and use the rest when demand increases,” he said.
Critical to transport authorities, utilities, and major infrastructure contractors, Garland’s armoured cables are set to play a vital role in Australia’s infrastructure for years to come.
For more information, visit madisonexpress.com.au/brands/garland-cables
