Tasman Ring Network to Supercharge South Island Connectivity and Significantly Improve the Resilience of New Zealand’s Internet
Datagrid New Zealand, Alcatel Submarine Networks and OMS sign supply and installation contract for a new 2,300 km subsea cable linking Invercargill to Melbourne
Invercargill, New Zealand – 30 July 2026 — 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.
Tasman Ring Network Phase 1 - Invercargill to Melbourne
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, 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 stateof-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.