The announcement today from AT&T about its plan to join a consortium to build a submarine cable network between South East Asia and the US reminded me once again about New Zealand’s situation – on the edge of the Pacific with just the Southern Cross Cable connecting us to the rest of the world.
In his speech at the Digital Future Summit late last year Minister David Cunliffe told delegates that the average customer pays about $9 a month for international connectivity, a “significant fraction of a monthly charge of between $30 and $50.”
He said that a second fibre cable to Australia could provide the competition necessary to reduce the price of international bandwidth and "significantly improve our network resilience."
And he signaled that the government might consider a public private investment in a new trans-Tasman cable.
“The government recognises the importance of international connections and could consider a partial contestable subsidy for a further fibre cable to Australia for resilience and security purposes, potentially to be operated on an open access basis.
I propose to monitor progress that is being made in investment in international connections and the trend of international pricing for New Zealand users, and to report to Cabinet as needed on this issue.”
Its been four months since that speech and meanwhile serious investment in occuring in the Asia Pacific regarding international connectivity. Is a 'watching brief' enough?