Pacific Fibre Planning NZ$900 Million Broadband Link (Update2)
March 10, 2010, 10:37 PM EST
By Gavin Evans
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Pacific Fibre Ltd., a New Zealand investor group, plans to build a NZ$900 million ($628 million) fiber-optic cable linking New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to improve Internet speeds between the three nations.
The venture is seeking funding to lay the 13,000-kilometer (8,100 mile) cable and have it operating by 2013. It will be able to move 5.12 terabits of data a second, five-times the capacity of the Southern Cross Cable Network part-owned by Telecom Corp., the partners said in an e-mailed statement. Early studies are complete and the venture is gauging demand before preparing a business case for investors and bankers, they said.
New Zealand’s government is close to completing a short- list of international communication companies bidding to build an ultra-fast broadband network throughout the country. That work, and the national broadband network planned in Australia, will only increase demand on existing international services, Pacific Fibre said.
“This is necessary and basic infrastructure,” partner and Warehouse Group Ltd. founder Stephen Tindall said in today’s statement. “We must decrease the distance between New Zealand and international markets.”
Pacific Fibre’s cable would run direct from the U.S., making it “substantially” shorter than existing cables and reducing lag on it, the group said. Branch units could connect with some Pacific Islands and the cable has scope to be upgraded to 12 terabit capacity later, Pacific Fibre said.
Other members of the group include Xero Ltd. founder Rod Drury, Fairfax Media Ltd. director Sam Morgan, and former Vodafone New Zealand Ltd. marketing officer Mark Rushworth.
The NZ$900 million costing is an estimate and will likely change as the plan is developed and tenders are sought for the work, Rushworth said by phone. He wouldn’t say how much the partners have spent on the project so far.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...g-nz-900-million-broadband-link-update2-.html
March 10, 2010, 10:37 PM EST
By Gavin Evans
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Pacific Fibre Ltd., a New Zealand investor group, plans to build a NZ$900 million ($628 million) fiber-optic cable linking New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to improve Internet speeds between the three nations.
The venture is seeking funding to lay the 13,000-kilometer (8,100 mile) cable and have it operating by 2013. It will be able to move 5.12 terabits of data a second, five-times the capacity of the Southern Cross Cable Network part-owned by Telecom Corp., the partners said in an e-mailed statement. Early studies are complete and the venture is gauging demand before preparing a business case for investors and bankers, they said.
New Zealand’s government is close to completing a short- list of international communication companies bidding to build an ultra-fast broadband network throughout the country. That work, and the national broadband network planned in Australia, will only increase demand on existing international services, Pacific Fibre said.
“This is necessary and basic infrastructure,” partner and Warehouse Group Ltd. founder Stephen Tindall said in today’s statement. “We must decrease the distance between New Zealand and international markets.”
Pacific Fibre’s cable would run direct from the U.S., making it “substantially” shorter than existing cables and reducing lag on it, the group said. Branch units could connect with some Pacific Islands and the cable has scope to be upgraded to 12 terabit capacity later, Pacific Fibre said.
Other members of the group include Xero Ltd. founder Rod Drury, Fairfax Media Ltd. director Sam Morgan, and former Vodafone New Zealand Ltd. marketing officer Mark Rushworth.
The NZ$900 million costing is an estimate and will likely change as the plan is developed and tenders are sought for the work, Rushworth said by phone. He wouldn’t say how much the partners have spent on the project so far.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...g-nz-900-million-broadband-link-update2-.html
