More than half of the 15,000km cable has now been laid, with the US domestic segment linking Oregon on the mainland to Hawaii completed in Q4 2017.
The cable will run between the US and Australia, with the international segment also connecting New Zealand. Deployment on this section has been underway since November 2017.
In December, the US Federal Communications Commission granted cable operators Hawaiki a licence for the cable's US domestic line.
A number of cable landings for the 42Tb cable, which Amazon Web Services has already announced plans to use, have already been completed, including stations in Pacific City, Oregon; Oahu, Hawaii; and Sydney, Australia. There will also be a cable lading in American Samoa, which is scheduled for March 2018.
“The start of 2018 finds Hawaiki closer and closer to ready for service”, said Remi Galasso, CEO of Hawaiki.
“Landing the cable in its home country represents a major event for our team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our New Zealand partners for their continuous support. Hawaiki will bring huge benefits to New Zealand in terms of greater connectivity to Australia and the US, security of supply, diversity and increased business opportunities for the Telecom and IT industries.”
With several thousands of kilometres of undersea fibre-optic cable on board, TE SubCom’s cable-laying vessel CS Responder is now berthed in Auckland, poised to begin marine activities for the New Zealand leg of the transoceanic cable system later this month.
This will include the laying of a cable landing in Mangawhai Heads, which is on the North Island of New Zealand. The cable is privately owned, having been co-developed by Sir Eion Edgar, a New Zealand businessman.
Chris Carobene, vice president, Marine Services, TE SubCom said, “We’re proud of the progress to date on the Hawaiki system and look forward to it being ready for service later this year. The project showcases the SubCom team’s expertise in the transpacific market and has been a great example of the kind of partnership that results in a successful venture.”
Interested in subsea cables? The December/January issue of Capacity featured a Subsea Special Report, which you can view by <<
