Sam Morgan and the new Fibre for NZ

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SteveON

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#69438 8-Oct-2010 13:46

Hey there,

I was watching the video of Sam talking about the new cable they were laying, but I have one huge concern. It appears that they will be providing a very competitive solution, but with little redundancy. What happens if the cable is cut? Are they expecting everyone to have a backup contract with southern cross? This will only add to ISP costs rather than cutting them..

Watch for yourself. http://www.vimeo.com/15495728

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#389596 8-Oct-2010 15:03

What would happen at the moment if the southern cross cable was cut/damaged?
Is there redundancy for that?

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graemeh

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#389598 8-Oct-2010 15:07

Yes, the Southern Cross cable has it's own redundancy
http://www.southerncrosscables.com/public/Network/default.cfm

If you go to the link above you can see it's a giant ring (well a few rings) :)

SteveON

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#389599 8-Oct-2010 15:07

CYaBro: What would happen at the moment if the southern cross cable was cut/damaged?
Is there redundancy for that?

SC is like a figure of eight loop. so if one is cut there is another strand to cope.

gehenna

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#389607 8-Oct-2010 15:27

I'm going out on a limb but I'm sure these people have considered the dangers and have worked redundancy into the mix, otherwise how would they get investor buy-in?

stuzzo

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#389619 8-Oct-2010 15:55

He did sort of cover that by saying that, in fact, the new cable would add extra security to the data link to the US especially if there was some big natural event around Hawaii which is the pinch point for the current cables.

A comparison would be someone like Sky who would be up the creek if they lost access to their main satelite.

knoydart

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#389620 8-Oct-2010 15:59

You'll find in most large sub sea cables that apart from anything else, you buy some back up from the other side. Sounds ironic but another thing to factor in. This fantastic article from Wired in 1994 is worth a read on sub sea cables if you have a spare hour or 2...

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SteveON

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#389626 8-Oct-2010 16:08

But that entirely ruins the whole idea of the 'unlimited' potential. Because SC has good redundancy most ISP's only need them. But now Sam's idea will mean that ISP's will need both, which pretty much increases costs.

If the new cable has a snag, then they will be out till it's repaired which could take a week.

knoydart

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#389628 8-Oct-2010 16:16

Sorry I should claify, that owners of the fibre do buy back up from the other side. I suspect that from a domestic user point of view, you would not be requiring that level of redundacy. From a commercial point of view however eg Broadcast, then you would insist (and pay through the nose) for the diversity of physical paths.

pinkydot

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#389639 8-Oct-2010 16:37

well just hope there is no cable cut.. couldnt be good if that's happen.

robbyp

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#389647 8-Oct-2010 17:10

I assume their redundancy would be telecoms southern cross cable. Mobile phone providers don't have two networks setup in case one goes down, the cost would be too great.

wuzy

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#389668 8-Oct-2010 18:20

Sam shares the same vision as I do; that is to obliterate the age old business model currently held by the entertainment industry. To do this first he has to create a demand for more services going via IP, and this will open the eyes of consumers switching everything over to cheaper services provided by IP. Once that happens stage two can begin by forcing the hands of the entertainment industry.

I admire his ambition.

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hellonearthisman

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#389669 8-Oct-2010 18:21

I'm guessing if the cable is cut, the internet goes out. Like it did in India a while back, http://news.softpedia.com/news/Severed-Undersea-Internet-Cable-to-Disrupt-Service-in-India-140641.sh... I guess they will have backup on the SC but like the Indian problem until it's repaired (a couple of weeks) users will get slow Internet and connection problems.

Really I don't think it will be much of an issue over the life of the cable.

I like the idea that it's one way that Telecom/SC will be moved to be a competitive machine instead of a cream machine. Without competition Telecom just sits on its hands.

raytaylor

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#390040 10-Oct-2010 03:27

If you can buy the bulk of your transit from one provider eg. Pacific fibre, then you would buy another 20% on SXC so that you could still provide some service during a cable cut. Thats a nobrainer. Most ISP's have multiple suppliers of bandwidth right now anyway

Funny someone bought up that wired article. I remember finding it and reading it about 5 years ago.

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raytaylor

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#390041 10-Oct-2010 03:51

OK i just watched that video.
I am now willing to give him all the money in my bank account. Its only $3200 so probably will only get it a few feet closer to the states but its his if he wants it.

Ray Taylor

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webwat

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#390518 11-Oct-2010 15:17

Since the cables will go to both Australia and USA, ISPs will be able to buy international routes that achieve redundancy. Most of them will have sufficient SC bandwidth on existing contracts anyway, and SC is now planning to upgrade within a couple of years too so prices should come down.

Time to find a new industry!

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