By Rebecca Howard
WELLINGTON--Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (NZTCY, TEL.NZ),
Telstra Corp. (TLSYY, TLS.AU) and Vodafone Group PLC's (VOD, VODFP,
VOD.LN) local unit said Thursday they have issued a tender for a
telecommunications cable that will run between New Zealand and
Australia.
The undersea cable linking Auckland and Sydney will be capable
of handling 300 times New Zealand's current internet data
requirements. Earlier this year, the three companies said the cost
of the cable is expected to be less than US$60 million and will
have a design capacity of 30 terabits per second.
Several international submarine cable contractors have been
invited to tender for the Tasman Global Access Cable and all have
indicated strong interest in responding, Telecom and Vodafone said
in a joint release.
They expect to select the winning bidder "over the next couple
of months." Cable construction is expected to start in 2014 and the
2,300-kilometer undersea cable system is expected to be operational
by early 2015.
New Zealand currently relies on one high-speed fiber-optic cable
between Australasia and the west coast of the United States. The
Southern Cross international cable is half owned by Telecom, which
also has a 33% stake in a second, limited-capacity cable connecting
New Zealand and Australia. Telstra has a 36% stake in the second
cable.
Write to Rebecca Howard at rebecca.howard@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires