Spark has announced the completion of an upgrade to its cable link across Cook Strait saying it will improve resiliency of the link.
The link, between Nelson and Levin is one of three across Cook Strait, two of which are operated by Spark. It was installed in 2001.
Spark says it has installed the latest optical transport technology at the landing point in Nelson’s Cable Bay, enabling traffic to be re-routed onto the cable in the event that one or both of the other inter-island cables fail.
Spark GM technology infrastructure, Campbell Fraser, said: “The completion of this upgrade improves the resiliency of our network particularly between the North and South Islands, as the Nelson-to-Levin cable is shallow buried rather than laid on the surface of the sea floor, and is away from known fault lines. In emergency situations it gives us more options for routing traffic and keeping people connected.”