Australian telco begins laying of 9,000 km undersea internet cable
by Rich Bowden - Apr 10 2008, 06:09
Aust telco Telstra will begin laying a 9,000 km undersea internet cable this week. Photo: Telstra Lonsdale Exchange Building in Melbourne, Victoria. Credit: Bidgee
Australian telecommunications company Telstra has begun the arduous task of laying a 9,000 km undersea internet cable from Australia to Hawaii.
The company hopes to use the cable, which should be ready for use at the end of this year, to improve internet connections, noting that a large percentage of its internet traffic comes from the United States.
"It's really crucial for the future - we're seeing the rate of data transported from the US to Australia and back again doubling every year. Sixty-five per cent of of our internet traffic comes from the US," said Telstra spokeswoman Kate McKenzie.
She added the cable's capacity was 1.28 Terabits per second, meaning it would have the ability to carry 160,000 concurrent high definition television channels as well as increased volumes of internet traffic.
She said the investment by the company in the undersea cable was significant.
"All of these investments are occurring where there are benefits for customers, and where Telstra can make a commercial return on its investment," Ms McKenzie said. "This cable is the largest ever built and owned by an Australian company.”
The cable will begin its run from Tamarama Beach, in Sydney, later this week.
Comment on this Story