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Steve McCabe: In an internet ghetto far away…
From New Zealand Herald – Friday 6 January 2012
The Southern Cross cable comes ashore on Takapuna beach. Photo / Russell Smith
By Steve McCabe
While there is, indisputably, much to love about life in New Zealand, there is no escaping the fact that internet access in this country is inadequate.
There’s no sense in trying to dress this point up with euphemism or balance or mitigating circumstances. Internet access in New Zealand is very poor.
There are reasons, of course, and these reasons do stem from the fact that we live, as we often remind ourselves, on a couple of very small islands in a huge ocean.
But while this fact is inescapable, it becomes, after a while, more of an excuse than simply a fact offered in mitigation.
Internet connectivity between New Zealand and the outside world is mediated, for the most part, by a small number of underwater cables.
Takapuna and Whenuapai form our two nodes in the loop that is the Southern Cross Cable, linking us to Hawaii and, ultimately, California to the northeast and Australia to the west.
And that’s pretty much it.
The Government has recognised the need to revamp our connectivity.
Its plans for an ultra-fast broadband network are admirable, and the idea of an always-on 100-megabit-a-second connection to our home network fills my heart with joy, not least because my wife’s job as a tele-commuting web designer could become so much easier.
But a domestic broadband initiative, admirable though it may be, is not enough.
Imagine the Government providing every adult in New Zealand with a new Ferrari. Now imagine every single road in every single city replaced with perfectly smooth, flat, straight, wide avenues.
Wonderful, I’m sure you’ll agree. Just like our much-vaunted ultra-fast broadband scheme.
But now imagine that every single road between towns is blocked and replaced with single-lane dirt tracks.
That, I am afraid, is where we will be headed unless the Government rethinks New Zealand’s internet strategy.
The announcement made last year by the then-Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, was ambitious, promising us a world-class internet infrastructure.
But it addressed only intra-national networking.
We will be able to share information within the country with unprecedented and unrivalled speed – but when we try to talk to the outside world, nothing will change.
An ultra-high-speed connection is only as fast as its slowest point, and unless we address the bottlenecks that are an inevitable fact of our geography, the money spent on Mr Joyce’s plan will be, to a degree at least, wasted.
So how could that money better be spent?
The Southern Cross Cable, our primary data artery to the rest of the world, cost US$1 billion ($1.27 billion) to build. Mr Joyce’s plan is budgeted at $1.5 billion.
The Government is clearly willing to invest sums similar to those required for a new cable.
And new cables would be a more sensible first step towards building a world-class internet presence for New Zealand.
The Crown realises the wisdom of this approach. Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand, a state-owned entity, has invested in Pacific Fibre, a local business which has seen the huge need for increased capacity into New Zealand and started making plans for a second transpacific cable, this time from Sydney to Los Angeles, via Auckland and Samoa.
Pacific Cable has costed the project at less than half a billion dollars, or less than a third of the sum Mr Joyce says has been set aside for the Government’s domestic project.
New Zealand’s internet infrastructure does, indeed, need updating.
But so does our international connectivity.
Apple’s recent unveiling of its new iCloud online service only serves to remind us that the future of computing is being built online, with or without us.
New Zealand must make a choice, and that choice must be made carefully, and soon.
We can spend a large sum on a fantastic local network, but leave it so vulnerable and isolated from the rest of the world that a single heavy storm such as the one that hit Southern Cross Cable’s Oregon facility in 2007 can halve our international bandwidth.
Or we can take some of that money and invest in cabling connecting us with North America, with Australia and with Japan,South Korea and China.
One of these options will make us true citizens of the net, able to compete on an equal footing.
The other will leave us very well connected within an internet ghetto.
Steve McCabe is a teacher and freelance computer consultant with no financial interest in the second cable project.
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Vodafone New Zealand and Pacific Fibre today announced that they have signed a multi-million dollar agreement for the supply of international bandwidth on the new Pacific Fibre cable system.
Under the 10-year deal, Vodafone will become Pacific Fibre’s biggest New Zealand customer.
Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners says Pacific Fibre is bringing much needed competition to the international bandwidth market.
“By partnering with an innovative, entrepreneurial business such as Pacific Fibre, we’re helping to break down the digital divide between New Zealand and the rest of the world.
“This deal will allow us to scale our customer offers over the next 10 years delivering the quality and quantity of capacity that our customers need now and into the future.
“This will help us to support New Zealanders’ online ambitions by making sure they can confidently connect to the world and the world can confidently connect to New Zealand.”
Mark Rushworth, Pacific Fibre CEO, says the Vodafone deal is its biggest to date, coming hard on the heels of a contract with REANNZ.
“Foundation customers such as Vodafone and REANNZ have championed the cause of ensuring international bandwidth competition. Their commitment will have a direct impact on bringing faster service and better rates to the region, helping to break the monopoly on capacity pricing into and out of New Zealand”.
Sir Stephen Tindall, Pacific Fibre co-founder, says building Pacific Fibre moves us closer to the US market.
“It’s like parking New Zealand off the West Coast of America, removing the tyranny of distance. It will help foster future innovation and greater economic development for New Zealand.”
Pacific Fibre’s undersea cable system will connect Australia to New Zealand, then to the USA and is scheduled to be launched by early 2014.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Matt East
Vodafone NZ
matthew.east@vodafone.com
+64 21 897 647
Mark Rushworth
Pacific Fibre CEO
mark.rushworth@pacificfibre.net
+64 21 244 0777
+64 9 2153308
About Pacific Fibre
Pacific Fibre was founded in 2010 and is intending to construct one of the longest and most technically advanced undersea cable systems. The Pacific Fibre cable will connect Australia and New Zealand to the United States, using leading and proven industry technology to achieve the fastest and most efficient route. Employing 40G technology, Pacific Fibre’s cable will, upon installation, deliver 10.24 Tbt/s of design capacity and, like all modern cable systems, should be capable of significant future increases in design capacity. Pacific Fibre is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Xero‘s Craig Walker reports from the USA on the internet gap between there and Australia and New Zealand. Xero founder and CEO Rod Drury is a founder and director of Pacific Fibre.
As part of Xero’s push into the US market my wife and I have made the move from Wellington to San Francisco to help start the US office. San Francisco is a great city – the home of Silicon Valley, one flight from NZ, a good timezone match for back home – so it made sense for San Francisco to be the initial base of US operations for Xero.
Being an always-connected personality the first thing I did was to get an Internet connection into our apartment. I chose WebPass because they offer extremely high speed connections (100Mbps synchronous) to certain buildings in the City and our building happened to be on the list (similar to CityLink back in Wellington). (I actually used Yelp to help me choose – services like Yelp that back in NZ don’t have the critical mass are absolutely essential when you’re in the US).
WebPass is $45 a month with no contract (or $400 for a year) – it’s cheaper than power!
I was connected in minutes and then the first thing I asked the technician was about “data caps”. It wasn’t the New Zealand accent that threw him – it was the term. “No data cap – unlimited – have fun!” he said. The first thing you notice with very fast, unlimited Internet access is how much freedom you have. No worrying about a massive over-charging on my bill – I’ve paid for the year so I have no bills!
From a consumer perspective this opens up a wide range of options. Obviously online gaming has no limits – but it’s television where the most disruptive changes are. Back in NZ I was investing cable providers. But with unlimited, fast Internet I bought an HDTV from Amazon with built-in WiFi and preloaded with apps. Yes – a TV with apps such as Hulu, Netflix and MLB.TV (I’m a big New York Yankees baseball fan). These apps stream high definition television over WiFi. I haven’t even bothered with cable yet – I’ve got everything available right there!
Obviously it helps that the content is so readily available – but I think half the reason it’s available is because it’s accessible. Making it available in New Zealand right now would be irresponsible as the cost to consumers is so prohibitive.
Now I can’t just watch TV all day – I am supposed to be working. And working is where I’ve found the biggest benefit. At home and at work the Internet is fast. Very fast. So my productivity has immediately increased. Everything I do for Xero requires access to the Internet in some form and now it’s almost instant – in fact I would argue it is instant. The productivity gains as a technology worker are massive. Free WiFi is in abundance in the US – both in coffee shops and hotels. This is also fast and unmetered – remote working is a lifestyle choice here and a choice that’s readily available.
My wife has also noticed the difference – as Xero’s Community Manager she is online as close to 24/7 as she can get. All her devices are now connected and connected constantly. Her job is easier and she’s more productive because the infrastructure is built for her kind of job – online and real-time. And at home she’s even more ecstatic! When she wants to upload photos of our new home town to Flickr it’s an instant process – in NZ uploading 50 photos would have taken minutes – long enough for her to have to go away and do something else – now it takes seconds.
Unfortunately the Internet back home still gets in the way. As a remote worker I have a team back home that I am in constant contact with. I can make Skype calls to US phones and the clarity is perfect – Facetime is awesome. But calling back to New Zealand still lags. I know it’s not me!
I always saw the need for the Pacific Fibre project because I understood the impact of fast, ubiquitous and cheap Internet in New Zealand. But it’s so radically different in the US right now Pacific Fibre is an imperative just to compete on a level playing field. How can technology firms in New Zealand expect to compete on a global scale when there is such a massive bandwidth divide? Pacific Fibre is not a nice-to-have – it’s a mission critical requirement for all New Zealand businesses.
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Pacific Fibre has signed a definitive agreement with iiNet for the
supply of international capacity on the Pacific Fibre cable system.
Pacific Fibre’s CEO, Mark Rushworth said he was very pleased to
have Australia’s second largest DSL broadband provider on board
as a foundation customer.
“We look forward to supporting iiNet’s ongoing success by
ensuring that they can deliver a faster service and more cost
effective solutions to their customers,” Mr Rushworth said.
iiNet’s CEO, Michael Malone said this would benefit
customers by providing greater capacity on some of the busiest
international routes for Internet traffic.
“As a foundation customer with Pacific Fibre, our customers
will enjoy some of the fastest paths when accessing international
content both now and well into the future” Mr Malone said.
“We have always supported competition in the International cable
space, and the additional capacity and choice Pacific Fibre is
delivering can only be good for both our business and the
industry in general.”
Pacific Fibre’s undersea cable system will connect Australia
to New Zealand, then on to the USA. It is scheduled to be in
commercial service by early 2014.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Mark Rushworth,
Pacific Fibre CEO
mark.rushworth@pacificfibre.net
+64 21 244 0777,
+64 9 2153308
About Pacific Fibre:
Pacific Fibre was founded in 2010 and is intending to
construct one of the longest and most technically advanced
undersea cable systems.
The Pacific Fibre cable will be the longest, and most
technically advanced trans-°©‐oceanic cable in the world.
The Pacific Fibre cable will connect Australia and New
Zealand to the United States, using leading and proven industry
technology to achieve the fastest and most efficient route.
Employing 40G technology, Pacific Fibre’s cable will, upon
installation, deliver 10.2 Tb/s of design capacity with
100G upgradability to 12.8Tb/s.
About iiNet:
iiNet is Australia’s second largest DSL Internet Service
Provider (ISP) and the leading challenger in the
telecommunications market. iiNet employs approximately
2000 inquisitive staff across four countries and support over
1.3 million broadband, telephone and Internet
Protocol TV (IPTV) services nationwide.
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PACIFIC FIBRE SELECTS TE SUBCOM AS SUPPLIER FOR HIGH-CAPACITY, TRANS-PACIFIC SUBSEA CABLE SYSTEM
12,750km System Will Set Record for Cross Sectional Capacity, Support Increasing Capacity Demands in Australia and New Zealand
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND and MORRISTOWN, NJ, USA – July 18, 2011 – Pacific Fibre and TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company (NYSE: TEL) and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology, today announced the signing of a supply contract for the Pacific Fibre undersea cable system. The exceptionally long system will stretch 12,750km and boast a significantly higher cross sectional capacity than any other trans-Pacific cable.
Intended to meet the increasing demand for international bandwidth in Australia and New Zealand, which has been growing at a rate of 55 percent per year, the Pacific Fibre system is planned for completion in 2014. The two-cable system will link Australia and New Zealand via a trans-Tasman cable, while connecting New Zealand to the United States via a trans-Pacific cable. The cable landing points will be in Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Los Angeles, California in the United States.
“Demand for international capacity in Australia and New Zealand is sharply increasing and is on track to continue growing for years to come,” said Mark Rushworth, CEO, Pacific Fibre. Mr. Rushworth continued, “The Pacific Fibre cable will not only provide unsurpassed high speed international connectivity to satisfy the growth in broadband demand, but it will also help Australia and New Zealand realize the potential of both countries’ multi-billion dollar broadband initiatives.”
Mike Constable, Director of Business Development, who led the vendor selection and negotiations added, “We look forward to working with TE SubCom, and are confident that the company’s leading 40G and 100G technology, coupled with itsextensive experience and marine capabilities will enable us to successfully implement and deliver this landmark project by the scheduled launch in the first quarter of 2014.”
Upon completion, the Pacific Fibre system will be the highest-capacity-per-fiber- pair system ever built. The cables will each have two fiber pairs, with an ultimate cable design capacity of 12.8 Tbps.
“We are pleased to join forces with Pacific Fibre to construct the longest trans- Pacific system and look forward to seeing the significant benefits that Pacific Fibre’s cable will bring to the region,” said David Coughlan, President of TE SubCom. “The system will be built with our advanced technology and will enable Pacific Fibre to deliver much-needed international connectivity between Australia, New Zealand and the United States in the immediate future and to continually support the region’s ever-growing international demand.”
About Pacific Fibre
Pacific Fibre was founded in 2010 and will deliver the longest and most technically advanced undersea cable systems linking Australia, New Zealand and USA. Pacific Fibre is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The Pacific Fibre shareholders include a number of successful entrepreneurs with proven track records, including Sam Morgan, Rod Drury, Sir Stephen Tindall, David Kirk MBE, and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel.
For more information visit www.pacificfibre.net.
About TE SubCom
TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company, is an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology and marine services and a leading global supplier for today’s undersea communications requirements. Drawing on its heritage of technical innovation and industry recognized performance, TE SubCom delivers the most reliable, high quality solutions to organizations with undersea communications needs vital to their core mission. The company designs, manufactures and installs systems around the world, and has deployed more than 490,000km of subsea communication cable—or enough to circle the earth more than 12 times at the equator. TE SubCom’s global presence, backed by industry leading research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities, installation and maintenance ships, depots, and management team work together to implement integrated solutions and network upgrades, with unsurpassed reliability, that support the needs of telecommunications, internet providers, offshore and science customers worldwide.
For more information visit www.SubCom.com.
About TE Connectivity
TE Connectivity is a global, $12.1 billion company that designs and manufactures over 500,000 products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside the products that touch every aspect of our lives. Our nearly 100,000 employees partner with customers in virtually every industry — from consumer electronics, energy and healthcare, to automotive, aerospace and communication networks — enabling smarter, faster, better technologies to connect products to possibilities. More information on TE Connectivity can be found at http://www.te.com/.
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