Counting down to the Hawaiki Cable

30 June is circled on our calendar – that’s when the Hawaiki Cable is due to be handed over to us, ready for service.  Following acceptance testing then further testing on our network, it will gradually be rolled out to members.

Back in April REANNZ announced it had selected Vodafone and Chorus to provide fibre backhaul services to connect the backbone national research and education network to the Hawaiki Submarine Cable Landing Station, located at Mangawhai Heads in Northland.  See our media release.

This week Jamie Curtis, our Head of Technology,  is setting up the PoP in Oregon (USA), which connects with the cable station at Mangawhai Heads.

REANNZ has a 25-year anchor tenancy on the Hawaiki Cable, which is an investment in New Zealand’s research and innovation infrastructure.

The cable will provide for the first time direct connectivity from New Zealand to the US - instead of through Australia. It has built in long-term growth, from 40 Gbps to 4 Tbps over the course of the contract.  And the spurs will provide the opportunity to expand into the Pacific. 

The Hawaiki Cable also ensures security and diversity of connectivity for members as, together with the Southern Cross cable, it provides dual connections to Australia.