Northland Inc CEO David Wilson said the announcement was one more piece of the puzzle that supported Hawaiki Cable toward the realisation of the project.
"We've always believed the Hawaiki Cable project is a critical piece of infrastructure that will attract further information and communication technologies investment " Mr Wilson said.
Mr Joyce said the Government's whole of contract contribution secures a 25-year anchor tenancy on the cable for Reannz, which operates New Zealand's high-performance research and education broadband network.
The total cost of the tenancy includes an initial contribution of $15 million and annual fees over the 25-year period. The Government has provided the $15 million contribution from an appropriation set aside for purchasing an anchor tenancy on a new transtasman and trans-Pacific submarine cable. Reannz will meet the annual fees out of its existing revenues. The agreement is conditional on Hawaiki obtaining sufficient pre-sales contracts from other telecommunications companies.
"Building a new cable will increase the resilience of New Zealand's telecommunications links and raise the level of competition," Ms Adams.
