With the announcing of a non-binding MOU between Telecom, Telstra and Vodafone to build a new trans-Tasman cable, I have noted a few points that immediately come to mind, both good and bad.

Positives:

• Content providers such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Akamai, etc all peer out of Sydney, so providing cheap point to point connectivity to this wealth of data is of huge benefit. If the price per Mbps is significantly lower than that currently available over southern cross, ISP’s may well look to leave aside local caching options, which in turn brings more content closer to shore.
• Without being able to confirm this, the building of this second cable “may” remove some barriers around dual country access as required by some of the content providers listed above and make it more likely that NZ will have those networks move on to our shores in the years to come, providing they aren’t put off by Telecom’s partial ownership in both cables, and that domestic demand warrants the expense.

Wonder if “dual country access” would be better addressed by diverse landing stations…