A statement from Vocus said this deal was an expansion on the Pacific Connect which was announced sometime back.

The Honomoana cable system would add a branch to Auckland and enable two Australian landings — in Melbourne and Sydney — meaning there would be a new domestic Sydney-Melbourne route and also the first diverse route across the Tasman.

Vocus said it would be able to provide up to 30Tbps of capacity between Australia and New Zealand.

"When combined with our existing cables, our network will span from South-East Asia to the US via multiple diverse landings in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific.

Vocus network map including South Pacific Connect, Australia Singapore Cable, North-West Cable System (with in-progress branch to Timor Leste), Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable system, and Vocus’ inter-capital fibre backbone. Supplied

“Pacific Connect will significantly increase trans-Tasman data capacity with the new Auckland landing, and brilliantly complements our existing network both in Australia and internationally – allowing Vocus to provide our customers with unprecedented network capacity and redundancy across three continents.

“The new Sydney to Melbourne route will also allow Vocus to provide our customers with another redundant route on Australia’s east coast, complementing our existing coastal and inland terrestrial routes that have recently been upgraded to offer 400Gbps services.”

Vocus said a core element of the Pacific Connect initiative was to deliver a trans-Pacific subsea ring between Australia and the US via diverse landings and an interlink cable between Fiji and French Polynesia.

The system will also include pre-positioned branching units to enable other Pacific nations to connect in the future.

The agreement is meant to provide Vocus with dark fibre across the Pacific Connect system, with the option to acquire additional capacity in future as demand requires. This will initially provide Vocus with up to 30Tbps of capacity, depending on the length of the route, when the system is ready for service in 2026.

“Submarine cables are critical digital infrastructure, and by establishing new diverse landings throughout Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, French Polynesia, and the US, this new system will significantly uplift the digital resilience of Australia and the broader Pacific region,” Sweeney said.

Vocus’ existing suite of cable infrastructure includes the 4600km Australia Singapore Cable from Perth to Singapore, the 2100km North West Cable System which is being extended to Timor Leste, and the Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable system which provides a direct route from Darwin to Singapore via Port Hedland, Christmas Island and Indonesia.

Vocus also operates Australia’s second-largest inter-capital fibre backbone network connecting all mainland capitals.