Hawaiki secures US landing site

Hawaiki Cable, the New Zealand owner and developer of Hawaiki submarine cable system, will land its proposed 14,000 km trans-Pacific cable in Oregon, USA.

The company said it has signed contracts with US providers Tillamook Lightwave and CoastCom for key infrastructure and connectivity.

Both contracts cover the 25-year life of the cable.

The contracts include a cable landing station, terrestrial infrastructure, and a new fibre backhaul network that will connect the cable landing station to the city of Hillsboro, near Portland.

Hawaiki Cable CEO R?mi Galasso said Hillsboro is a major point of presence on the US West Coast and presented the best opportunity to interconnect with US carriers.

“Oregon is the best state on the US West Coast to land a submarine fibre optic cable. The coast is relatively safe and the State permitting process is shorter. Our customers tell us that they like Oregon’s diversity and easy access to US networks and data centres,” said Galasso.

Hawaiki’s cable system is scheduled for completion in late 2015, and aims to link New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii to the US West Coast.

“One of the greatest challenges facing trans-Pacific cable developers is securing a US landing point and associated backhaul,” said Galasso. “So we’re delighted to reach this critical project milestone and sign contracts with Tillamook Lightwave and CoastCom.”