Hi there

The Sunshine Coast economy keeps accelerating and so does its standout technology  infrastructure. A clear example is the region's submarine broadband cable. Already Australia's fastest data connection to Asia and the second-fastest to the USA, its capacity has recently been dialled up by  300%.

The submarine cable is the original of two cables now located on the Sunshine Coast. The increased speed will unlock faster, lower-latency connectivity between Asia-Pacific data hubs and help power the next wave of AI, cloud computing and hyperscale demand.

At the same time, investment in tourism infrastructure is accelerating.

• Expressions of interest are now open for a new hotel at Sunshine Coast Airport
• Construction is progressing on the landmark Crowne Plaza in Maroochydore. 

These developments reflect growing confidence in the region’s visitor economy and its capacity to support increased demand leading up to and beyond the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This month we're also sharing news on business opportunities and a month of tech events.

• Golden opportunity: helping businesses prepare for the Games
• Sun Con 2026 Cybersecurity Conference: Saturday 9 May 2026
• Spark 2026 Health x Industry: Wednesday 13 May 2026
• FWD>>>Fest 26: Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 May 2026
• Hard Hats, High Tech in Paradise: Construction Tech Ideation Workshop, Friday 29 May 2026

We invite you to explore how your business could thrive in the excitement of this evolving landscape of business opportunity.

Sunshine Coast Council welcomes enquiries about business expansion or relocation and provides one of Australia's best local government investment concierge services.

If you would like to talk about opportunities or ideas, please don't hesitate to contact me or Invest Sunshine Coast's Investment Lead Wendy Macdonald on 0408 731 999 or wendy.macdonald@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

Kind regards

Alex Lever-Shaw

Head of Investment, Trade and International

Economic Development Branch

Sunshine Coast Council 

Email: alex.lever-shaw@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au  
Mobile: 0407 753 645
Access a wide array of information online

This month's Sunshine Coast news ...

Expressions of interest open for delivery of airport hotel

Lightstorm lifts Japan-Guam-Australia cable to 400Gbps

Council incentives help Crowne Plaza development

Golden opportunity: preparing for the Games

May 2026 tech events ...

EVENT: Sun Con Cybersecurity Conference, 
Saturday 9 May 2026

EVENT: SPARK 2026: Health
x Industry workshop, Wednesday 13 May 2026

EVENT: FWD>>>Fest 26 - the entrepreneurial and innovation festival, Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 May 2026

EVENT: Hard Hats, High Tech in Paradise: Construction Tech Ideation Workshop, Friday 29 May 2026

Investor resources ...

FREE DOWNLOAD: Hotel sector incentives helping stimulate new development

CHECK IT OUT ONLINE: Council's investment and growth toolkit

VIDEO: Tech in Paradise! Innovation meets connectivity on the Sunshine Coast

VIDEO: Export in Paradise! Sunshine Coast seafood trade mission to Singapore

In another step towards attracting high‑value investment to the region by nurturing the growing geospatial intelligence community, Sunshine Coast Council has launched a dedicated industry group on LinkedIn: the Sunshine Coast Geospatial Intelligence Community.

This group connects investors, innovators and technology leaders to showcase local geospatial intelligence capability, share emerging trends and highlight investment and growth opportunities for this fast growing sector.

Interested in exploring how your business can capitalise on the Sunshine Coast’s emerging geospatial intelligence and data economy?

👉 Join the conversation on LinkedIn to connect, collaborate and explore investment and growth potential.

Please encourage your network to join too!