Telecom is laying a new $6.1 million fibre optic "ring" to connect Coromandel bach and business owners to its network.
Contractors have begun putting down 55km of fibre optic cable to join townships on both sides of the peninsula as far north as Coromandel down to Morrinsville.
Thenew ring, scheduled to begin carrying telecommunications traffic in early 2008, is designed to increase network capacity and help prevent disruptions when cables break, said Telecom network planner Mark Fendall.
"The new network will be self-healing in the sense that it provides the ability to re-route traffic between centres on the ring and thereby reduce the risk of service disruption if there is damage to the fibre-optic cable," said Fendall.
"If, for example, the fibre-optic cable is cut in one place, it will have the capability to electronically redirect the services carried over it in the opposite direction around the ring."
Traffic on State Highway 25, the main road around the Coromandel Peninsula, may be affected as cable laying equipment works alongside the road.
"The nature of the cable laying work alongside State Highway 25 may cause some disruption to traffic and we therefore ask road users for their patience during this first phase of the project," said Fendall.
