Datagrid New Zealand today announced the signing of a supply and installation contract with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and OMS Group (OMS) for the delivery of the Tasman Ring Network, a new optical submarine cable system connecting Invercargill, in the South Island of New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia. Under the contract, ASN will supply the submarine cable system, while OMS will carry out the marine survey and the installation of the cable.
Spanning approximately 2,300 km, the Tasman Ring Network will be equipped with a minimum of eight fibre pairs, delivering a design capacity of at least 160 Tbps and opening a new digital route across the Tasman Sea.
A first for the South Island – true diversity for New Zealand
The Tasman Ring Network will be the first international submarine cable to land in the South Island. By opening a second, fully independent gateway in the south, the Tasman Ring Network will bring true geographic diversity to New Zealand’s international connectivity and significantly strengthen the resilience of the nation’s internet.
A game changer for Southland and the South Island
“We are delighted to sign this commercial agreement with ASN, the global leader in submarine cables, and with OMS, which operates the largest fleet of cable ships in the region,” said Remi Galasso, Chief Executive Officer of Datagrid. “The Tasman Ring Network will be a game changer for Southland and for the South Island as a whole. It will unlock the potential of the region, particularly for data centre development, and will allow South Island IT companies, universities and research centres to benefit from better internet with latency improved by up to 45 percent compared with existing routes via the North Island. An entire digital ecosystem will be able to benefit from it and grow.”
“ASN is proud to contribute to the opening of a new digital route whose impact will undoubtedly be significant for the economic development of New Zealand,” said Alain Biston, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel Submarine Networks. “We thank the Datagrid teams for their choice and assure them of our full collaboration in making this project a success.”
A low-emission marine survey powered by autonomous offshore survey vessel
OMS will conduct the marine survey using the USV ELITE, it’s latest state-of-the-art long-range Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). Operating without a conventional crewed survey ship, the USV will drastically reduce fuel consumption and the carbon footprint of the survey operations, while delivering high-precision seabed data along the entire route.
“We are honoured to have been selected by Datagrid, alongside ASN, to deliver the Tasman Ring Network,” said Ronnie Lim, Group Chief Executive Officer, OMS Group. “By deploying our state-of-the-art unmanned surface vessel for the marine survey, we will drastically reduce the carbon footprint of the survey operations, demonstrating our commitment to building critical digital infrastructure in a more sustainable way. Our teams and our regional fleet look forward to carrying out the survey and the installation of the cable safely and on schedule.”
About Datagrid
Datagrid New Zealand is developing New Zealand’s first AI factory – a 280MW hyperscale data center campus in Makarewa, Southland, purpose-built for advanced AI, sovereign cloud, and high-density computing workloads. Powered by renewable energy and benefiting from Southland’s naturally cool climate, the campus is designed to achieve world-leading power usage efficiency. Alongside the campus, Datagrid is delivering the Tasman Ring Network — a new submarine optical cable that will bring high-capacity international connectivity to New Zealand’s South Island for the first time. Together, these projects form an integrated platform that leverages New Zealand’s natural and geographic advantages to attract world-class digital investment, drive regional economic growth, and position the country at the forefront of the global AI economy.
For more information, visit www.datagrid.nz
About Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)
For over 160 years, Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is a leading player in the submarine cable industry, with more than 850,000 km of optical systems deployed worldwide—equivalent to 21 times the Earth’s circumference.
With 3 factories located in Europe and an exclusive fleet of 7 cableships, ASN designs, develops, deploys, and maintains turnkey submarine transmission systems for telecommunications operators, digital content providers and cloud services. Additionally, ASN serves the offshore energy market with dedicated technologies.
Leveraging a comprehensive service portfolio and unique expertise, ASN meets the growing and specific demands of its clients to deliver enhanced connectivity across seas and oceans.
ASN is 80% owned by the French State Investment Agency (APE).
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About OMS Group
OMS Group is a global, neutral and integrated digital infrastructure service provider. OMS Group has two key divisions, OMS Telco and LitUp Network, enabling the Group to provide sustainable, end-to-end solutions across the digital infrastructure value chain.
The OMS Telco division encompasses Submarine Cable Installation, Installation Support, and Marine Maintenance. This delivers a full suite of marine services including installation and repair of deep and shallow water fibre-optic cable systems, shore end installation, engineering, project management, permitting, subsea surveys and maintenance of systems. OMS Telco delivers this capability using the five (5) owned, currently active Cable Vessels, with four (4) new Vessels under construction.
LitUp Network, the Interconnect Managed Services division, encompasses Cable Landing Stations, Network Backhaul, Data Centre Connectivity and Fibre ownership. This delivers licensed terrestrial services to complement the OMS Telco division and enable the full suite of integrated digital infrastructure services.
For more information, visit www.opticmarine.com
