Chorus NZ Limited and Datagrid New Zealand are joining forces on a 6,000km subsea cable which will ‘supercharge’ Trans-Tasman data connectivity and improve New Zealand’s connections with the world.
With an unprecedented design capacity of 540 Tbps, the Tasman Ring Network is planning to connect Auckland, New Plymouth, Greymouth, Invercargill, Sydney and Melbourne.
The Tasman Ring will greatly improve Internet capacity and resilience in New Zealand and provide much needed diversity out of the South Island.
This is an important milestone for Datagrid New Zealand in achieving [their] wider vision of developing a 240MW sustainable AI training data centre park in Makarewa Southland.
« We believe the Tasman Ring is the right vision and the right design to make New Zealand an attractive location for hyperscale data centers looking for abundant renewable electricity sources. Southland NZ has all the ingredients to become a major AI Training hub, but diverse international connectivity. This partnership with Chorus will help make that connectivity a reality » says Datagrid CEO Perrine Dhalluin.
« Combined international and domestic connectivity is key to unlocking the huge potential of New Zealand and Southland in particular. Together with Chorus we aim to make NZ AI-ready – moving from the Gigabyte era to the Terabyte era.»
« Chorus’ state of the art national fibre network combined with their strategy to extend into adjacent markets makes them an obvious partner for Datagrid New Zealand. We are delighted to partner with Chorus to make this ambitious project happen and contribute to the prosperity of the nation ».
Mike Shirley, Chorus’ Executive General Manager of Infrastructure adds: « This is a really exciting opportunity. Chorus NZ Limited and Datagrid see a need for integrated international and domestic connectivity solutions into the future. The Tasman Ring would hugely improve data centre connectivity in New Zealand and across the Tasman. Trans-Tasman connectivity is a natural adjacency to Chorus. The Tasman Ring project would allow New Zealand to compete in the international AI market and harness the global acceleration of cloud adoption ».
Sourced from: Remi Galasso LinkedIn post
