February 18, 2013

Telecom, Vodafone and Telstra have signed a “non-binding” memorandum of understanding to invest in a new submarine cable between Auckland and Sydney.

Telecom chief executive Simon Moutter and Vodafone New Zealand CEO Russell Stanners jointly said:

“The Tasman Global Access cable will also enable New Zealand to better leverage the four additional international cable systems currently serving Australia (with several more proposed or in development), providing important redundancy for New Zealand. Australia also enjoys good connectivity with Asia, which is achieving strong internet traffic growth in line with global economic shifts.”

According to the release, the tentatively named “Tasman Global Access” (TGA) cable will cost less than $60 million and will have a design capacity of 30 terabits/second when completed. This is around 300 times “current” throughput of the country.

This is great news for both the New Zealand economy and internet industry, but it’s disappointing the same group of people who own the Southern Cross Cable are investing in this one too. We need competition, and it’s clear from the reaction on Twitter this morning that many feel the same way.

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