HILO >> The University of Hawaii is getting a $4.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation so it can invest in an international submarine cable network.

The money will be dispersed over five years to fund the operation and upgrade of Australia’s Academic and Research Network that connects the continent to New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the West Coast of the U.S., the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports.

Called the Southern Cross Cable Network, the private connection meets Hawaii at Oahu and on the Big Island.

University director of cyberinfrastructure Gwen Jacobs says the funding will help grow capacity so scientists can share data around the world.

“One of the big reasons the National Science Foundation invests in us is because (UH) is such a huge scientific asset,” she said.

Jacobs says the cable network provides a backbone for the huge amounts of data institutions share and transmit. The University of Hawaii is going to be able to boost its own capacity from 40 gigabits per second to 100, she said.

The entire network connects Australia to New Zealand, and then goes to Hawaii and Los Angeles. Another connection goes from Hawaii to Seattle, leading from the West Coast across the U.S. and into Asia.