$900m plan to open NZ internet tap

The Southern Cross cable, New Zealand's main link to the internet, coming ashore at Auckland's Takapuna Beach in 1999. The group want to build a $900m rival. Photo / Russell Smith

Lower internet prices and unlimited downloads for home connections are predicted to be the result of a new high-speed link planned between New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

The project would build a $900 million, 13,000km high-speed link within three years.

The "Pacific Fibre" project is backed by some of New Zealand's best-known businessmen, including high-flyers Sam Morgan, Sir Stephen Tindall and Rod Drury.

It would provide a broadband connection with five times the capacity of the current connection, part-owned by Telecom.

"Businesses love very high resolution multi-party video conferencing while grandparents expect to be able to Skype video their grandchildren - and that, too, will be in HD [high definition] or better," said another Pacific Fibre founder, Mark Rushworth.

"But mostly we want to unleash that creative talent New Zealand has, and be on a level footing with the rest of the world."

Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman was delighted with any move to improve international connectivity.

"We hope it would provide some choice, and particularly our hope is that it would bring prices down to the point that data caps ... might disappear as they have in other parts of the world."

Data caps restrict the amount of information people are able to download.

Mr Drury, who owns the software-as-a-service accounting system Xero, is a long time critic of New Zealand's broadband links.

"People love to live and work here, but we're not playing on the global stage."

The do-it-yourself approach came about after a conversation between Mr Drury and Trade Me founder Sam Morgan late last year.

"I think we're doing it for the right reasons which allows us to build something that ... really makes a difference," said Mr Drury.

Mr Rushworth, a former Vodafone executive, said 90 per cent of New Zealand's internet traffic was to the US.

The project - which is now seeking customers and financial backers - was a commercial one.

"We hope to bring in extra capacity at a low price, which our carriers and ISP [internet service provider] customers can end up passing on to their customers," he said.

It was too early to give an estimate of price for the service.

THE LINK

* Cost up to $900 million.
* Have five times the capacity of the existing link.
* 13,000km long.
* Complete by 2013.
* Backed by business high-flyers Sam Morgan, Sir Stephen Tindall and Rod Drury.

- additional reporting NZPA