Captain Cook’s Endeavour – carrying 94 people, two greyhounds and a milking goat – took one year and eight months to get to Botany Bay, New South Wales. The latest vessel to carry the famous moniker will not take quite that long to deliver internet traffic to people throughout Australia.
The newly-named 9,120-kilometre "Telstra Endeavour" submarine cable will boost internet capacity between Australia and the United States and can carry up to 1.28 Terabits per second of traffic.
Each of the four fibre optic strands carries 10 Gbps of traffic over 64 wavelengths of light... See a visual breakdown of the cable components.
Watch the video - Sky News report on Telstra's 9000 kilometre submarine cable connecting Sydney and Hawaii.
Telstra Endeavour has taken 18 months to build and has been transmitting data since mid September. Melbourne-based Mr Peter Moon was chosen by Sydney radio personality Tim Webster after a nationwide competition encouraging all Australians to name the cable.
"I chose the name in honour of Captain Cook and his flagship Endeavour being the link between Hawaii and Australia," Mr Moon said.
Telstra Endeavour has been built to carry the increasing volume of data transferred between Australia and the United States via the internet. The United States currently accounts for around 65 per cent of all internet content.
Mr Michael Rocca, Group Managing Director, Telstra Networks and Services, says Telstra Endeavour is another illustration of Telstra’s willingness to invest in technology for the benefit of all Australians.
"Telstra Endeavour was specially manufactured in Calais, France and laid in four sections (up to six kilometres deep in some sections) by Telstra’s partner Alcatel-Lucent which took 18 months to complete.
"Global businesses and consumers who use data-rich services such as telecommuting, video-conferencing and mobile video applications will have access to a more seamless and reliable service through this increased network capacity," Mr Rocca said.
Ms Kate McKenzie, Group Managing Director Telstra Wholesale, said this project will benefit all Telstra customers.
"This is the first international cable to be laid out of Australia in seven years and is the only Australian cable that is 100% owned and operated by an Australian company – Telstra. It’s now been activated and is open for business," she said.
The increased capacity means Telstra’s customers will enjoy:
higher internet speeds and greater security when they access information from the United States on Telstra’s Next G™ network and through BigPond, and when they use services such as telecommuting and videoconferencing
an expanded range and quality of services for business customers including advanced multimedia and e-commerce applications, and more intelligent network services
a stable and reliable link between Australia and the US
Mr Moon will receive a pre-paid mobile phone and a $100 pre-paid wireless broadband kit while 20 shortlisted entries will receive an Apple i-pod shuffle.