PacRimWest (cable system)
Encyclopedia
PacRimWest was a twin pair 560Mb/s optical submarine telecommunications cable
which served as Australia's main link to the world along with its partner cables Tasman2 (Connecting Australia to New Zealand) and Pacrim East (connecting New Zealand to Hawaii).
Pacrim West was constructed in 1994 and was ready for service in June, and came into service on 31 January 1995 connecting Australia and Guam
. It was withdrawn from service in 2005.
Both the Pacrim West and Tasman2 / Pacrim East cables were designed at the very beginning of the internet era when the vast bulk of traffic was voice, fax and video for the television networks, with very limited requirement for data.
The Cables fairly quickly reached their capacity of 560Mb/s on each of the fibre pairs leading to the requirement for the building of a new 5Gb/s cable Jasuraus
two years later. Around a year after Jasuraus became active, it too approached its capacity with Telstra
being part of the consortium
building the SeaMeWe3
Cable (40Gb/s).
The Pacrim West and Eastern cables were part of the South Pacific Network of Cables. The South Pacific Network linked Australia and New Zealand with Hawaii and Guam
and connected with networks in the United States, Europe, Japan and South East Asia. It meant a great leap in Australia's international links, being able to handle around 80,000 voice circuits (phone calls), a great increase on the 1984 built Anzcan cable it superseded which could handle only 1,380 voice circuits.
Pacrim West at the time was the longest continuous submarine cable laid to that date at 7,062km (4,414 miles) and one of the most trailblazing cables passing through the Mariana Trench
near Guam
at a depth of 8,900m (29,000 feet). The cable used only 53 repeaters with spacing at around 135km (84 miles).
Part of the rationale behind the PacRim network was to bring much of the region's telecommunications traffic to Australia, forming a regional telecommunications and technology hub. The largest shareholder was OTC
, Australia's international carrier and around 70 percent of the cable was manufactured in Australia.
The Network was designed to have an operational life of 25 years, but became obsolete within only three years with the building of Jasuraus, although after decommissioning in 2005 the cable was cut near the Solomon Islands
and relaid to form APNG-2
in 2006 connecting Sydney and Papua New Guinea
, saving PNG around 80% of the cost of building a new cable and plant with the equipment from the Guam landing station being moved to PNG.
The Tasman-2 cable (built in 1992) covered the distance of 2,000km with three fibre pairs, and joined Sydney and Auckland
. From there the 7,855km (4,900 miles) Pacrim East cable (built in 1993) connected New Zealand to Keawaula in Hawaii.
The cost of the three cables combined was around $500m Australian.
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
which served as Australia's main link to the world along with its partner cables Tasman2 (Connecting Australia to New Zealand) and Pacrim East (connecting New Zealand to Hawaii).
Pacrim West was constructed in 1994 and was ready for service in June, and came into service on 31 January 1995 connecting Australia and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. It was withdrawn from service in 2005.
Both the Pacrim West and Tasman2 / Pacrim East cables were designed at the very beginning of the internet era when the vast bulk of traffic was voice, fax and video for the television networks, with very limited requirement for data.
The Cables fairly quickly reached their capacity of 560Mb/s on each of the fibre pairs leading to the requirement for the building of a new 5Gb/s cable Jasuraus
JASURAUS (cable system)
Jasuraus is a 5 Gbit/s, 2800km optical submarine telecommunications cable connecting Jakarta in Indonesia to Port Hedland In Australia. The name was derived from a concatenation of the original planned sites of 'Jakarta' - 'Surabaya' - 'Australia'...
two years later. Around a year after Jasuraus became active, it too approached its capacity with Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
being part of the consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
building the SeaMeWe3
SEA-ME-WE 3 (cable system)
SEA-ME-WE 3 or South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 is an optical submarine telecommunications cable linking those regions and is the longest in the world, completed in late 2000. It is operated by India's Tata Communications and 92 other investors from the telecom industry...
Cable (40Gb/s).
The Pacrim West and Eastern cables were part of the South Pacific Network of Cables. The South Pacific Network linked Australia and New Zealand with Hawaii and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and connected with networks in the United States, Europe, Japan and South East Asia. It meant a great leap in Australia's international links, being able to handle around 80,000 voice circuits (phone calls), a great increase on the 1984 built Anzcan cable it superseded which could handle only 1,380 voice circuits.
Pacrim West at the time was the longest continuous submarine cable laid to that date at 7,062km (4,414 miles) and one of the most trailblazing cables passing through the Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about long but has a mean width of only...
near Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
at a depth of 8,900m (29,000 feet). The cable used only 53 repeaters with spacing at around 135km (84 miles).
Part of the rationale behind the PacRim network was to bring much of the region's telecommunications traffic to Australia, forming a regional telecommunications and technology hub. The largest shareholder was OTC
Overseas Telecommunications Commission
The Overseas Telecommunications Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in August 1946. It inherited facilities and resources from Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited and Cable & Wireless, and was charged with responsibility for all international telecommunications services into,...
, Australia's international carrier and around 70 percent of the cable was manufactured in Australia.
The Network was designed to have an operational life of 25 years, but became obsolete within only three years with the building of Jasuraus, although after decommissioning in 2005 the cable was cut near the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and relaid to form APNG-2
APNG-2 (cable system)
The APNG-2 submarine communications cable is being constructed to link Papua New Guinea directly to Australia and indirectly to New Zealand and the rest of the world, and has been in service from late 2006....
in 2006 connecting Sydney and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, saving PNG around 80% of the cost of building a new cable and plant with the equipment from the Guam landing station being moved to PNG.
The Tasman-2 cable (built in 1992) covered the distance of 2,000km with three fibre pairs, and joined Sydney and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. From there the 7,855km (4,900 miles) Pacrim East cable (built in 1993) connected New Zealand to Keawaula in Hawaii.
The cost of the three cables combined was around $500m Australian.
See also
- Other Australian international submarine cables (and year of first service):
- Pipe Pacific CablePipe Pacific CablePIPE Pacific Cable is a submarine cable laid by PIPE Networks between Guam and Australia.The cable is approximately 6900 km long, and runs from Cromer, Australia, to Piti, Guam....
(2009) - Telstra Endeavour (2008)
- Australia-Japan CableAustralia-Japan CableThe Australia–Japan Cable, or AJC, is a 12,700km submarine telecommunications cable system linking Australia and Japan via Guam that became operational in 2001. It had an original design capacity of 640 Gbit/s, but was initially equipped to utilise only 80 Gbit/s of this capacity. In April 2008 a...
(2001) - Southern Cross CableSouthern Cross CableThe Southern Cross Cable, operated by Bermuda company Southern Cross Cables Limited, is a trans-Pacific network of telecommunications cables commissioned in 2000....
(2000) - SEA-ME-WE 3 (2000, Australian portion in service earlier)
- JASURAUSJASURAUS (cable system)Jasuraus is a 5 Gbit/s, 2800km optical submarine telecommunications cable connecting Jakarta in Indonesia to Port Hedland In Australia. The name was derived from a concatenation of the original planned sites of 'Jakarta' - 'Surabaya' - 'Australia'...
(1997)
- Pipe Pacific Cable