Abstract: Hard on the heels of last week’s Bosun cable system announcement, a Pacific-facing system has been confirmed. Chorus and Datagrid, both New Zealand based, will construct a Tasman Sea fibre ring to connect Melbourne and Sydney to the North and South Island, potentially creating an infrastructure to share data centre loads between the two markets. 

As geopolitical tensions rise, diversifying subsea cable routes has become essential for resilience and security. As we noted last week, Australia plays a strategic role in this diversification, providing alternative paths that bypass sensitive areas like the South China Sea and Malacca Strait. Routes like the “Great Southern Route” through Australian waters avoid congestion and geopolitical risks, safeguarding global data flows. Integrating New Zealand into this role strengthens communications security and data centre diversity in both markets.