iiNet chooses Hawaiki cable for Oz-US fibre capacity

iiNet Limited has issued a Letter of Intent to submarine cable group Hawaiki Cable Limited, confirming its intention to acquire fibre capacity on the Australia-US segment of the Hawaiki submarine cable system.

The 14,000 km cable system, scheduled for completion in late 2015, will link Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii to the US west coast.

The multi-million dollar deal will see iiNet acquire fibre capacity on the Sydney-to-US cable leg and the trans-Tasman leg linking Sydney to Whangarei in Northland, New Zealand.

The cable will initially provide up to 3Tbps capacity using the latest 100Gbps wavelength technology.

"As a leading carrier, the quality of iiNet's network infrastructure is paramount to maintaining the level of service our customers expect," said Michael Malone, CEO, iiNEt.

"Spectrum ownership on submarine cables presents a unique opportunity to bring even more diversity to our international network, reduce ongoing costs per gigabyte and enhance our customers' experience.

Echoing Malone's comments, Hawaiki CEO Rémi Galasso added: "iiNet's strategy to build its own super-fast broadband network is remarkable and fits our ambition to build a carrier-neutral submarine cable system.

"This deal also demonstrates the suitability of our network design and commercial approach.

Both parties expect to finalise an agreement within the next few weeks.