Hawaiki's plan for a submarine cable linking Australia and New Zealand to Hawaii edges closer with the signing of a supply contract with TE SubCom.

The deal will see the supplier design and lay fibre able to transmit 10 Tbps per fibre pair on the Australia-New Zealand to Hawaii trunk. The design will allow for Pacific Island nations near the main cable to connect to the network.  There are no specifics about the price of the deal, but it is likely to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

A media statement from Hawaiki says TE SubCom has a fleet of cable ships to lay the cable. It also says the supplier has experience with local permitting practices - something that could be critical as the project unfolds.

It's a normal part of the submarine cable process for network operators to sign supply contracts before getting the green light from financiers to go ahead with the build. Although the contract is no guarantee the project will complete, Hawaiki says is still planning to have the cable in place by late 2015.

Hawaiki says the cable will be based on 100 Gbps wavelength technology. The abandoned Pacific Fibre project planned 40 Gbps wavelengths while Southern Cross says it now operates 100 Gbps.

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