Pacific Fibre signs iiNet as third anchor

New Zealand submarine cable venture Pacific Fibre has signed service provider iiNet as one of four foundation customers to use its 12,750-kilometre link to the US.

The Perth-based ISP would join the New Zealand Government and the country's education fibre network as anchor tenants for the cable, which was expected to be lit in 2013 and ready for occupation the following year.

A fourth customer was expected to be finalised shortly.

TE SubCom won the approximately $300 million contract earlier this month to build the cable, which would provide up to 10.2 Tbps of bandwidth at full capacity.

iiNet chief executive Michael Malone told iTnews the agreement with Pacific Fibre would complement existing arrangements with Pipe Network's PPC-1 cable as well as lease agreements on Telstra-owned cable.

The company had not committed to a specific bandwidth amount on the Pacific Fibre cable.

Pacific Fibre chief executive Mark Rushworth had existing links to iiNet, having been hired by the ISP in 2005 to lead and then sell New Zealand ISP ihug to Vodafone's subsidiary there.

Malone said iiNet would also be interested in potentially leasing space from an additional submarine cable planned by Leighton Holdings between Singapore and Perth, close to the service provider's headquarters.

It would provide a more diverse international path away from Sydney, its current primary international gateway.

"iiNet still has a disproportionate number of customers in WA of course, and having better paths to Asia would be very handy," Malone said.