NZ: Ministry of TeleFone Announces New Submarine Cable
February 19th, 2013I guess it’s better than a kick in the teeth. *groan*
There still won’t be any competition, but at least there will be another physical path.
If you don’t get the TeleFone joke, it simply refers to Telecom New Zealand and Vodafone increasingly colluding on service offerings. See the Rural Broadband Initiative, for example.
Now this…
Via: New Zealand Herald:
A second internet link out of New Zealand announced today will not address Telecom’s “monopoly” on international connectivity, says the Green Party.
The Labour Party and a consumer advocate has also signalled some disquiet over potential competition issues that could arise from the venture.
Telecom, Vodafone and Telstra have announced a deal to build a new undersea telecommunications cable between Auckland and Sydney, which should dramatically increase the amount of internet data able to be sent to and from New Zealand.
The companies say the new cable, tentatively titled the “Tasman Global Access” cable, will “significantly improve New Zealand’s international telecommunications connectivity as well as strengthen links into fast-growing Asian markets.”
The total cost of the cable is expected to be less than US$60 million ($70.9m).
A design is expected to be finalised within the next few months, with a likely completion date of mid to late next year.
The cable will incorporate three fibre pairs with a current design capacity of 30 terabits per second – approximately 300 times the current internet data demand out of New Zealand.
