New subsea cables feed a data-hungry, paranoid world

New subsea cables feed a data-hungry, paranoid world
Rémi Galasso plans to construct another cable between NZ and Australia (Image: Getty)
Peter Griffin
Earlier this week, I watched a gun-metal-coloured vessel motor up Wellington Harbour and assumed the navy was coming to town.But looking at it through my binoculars, I saw the words “cable patrol” painted across it in large black letters. Transpower runs the patrol boat and spends most of its time monitoring the Cable Protection Zone between Marlborough and Wellington, a 7 km wide stretch of water through which critical power and communications cables run between our two main islands.The consequences of a cable being severed by a sh...

More Opinion

Bond market backlash
Opinion

James Caughey: Bond market backlash

Equity investors will need to pick companies that can grow profits faster than inflation.

James Caughey 03 Jun 2025
NZ Post: The secretive SOE
Opinion

Maria Slade: NZ Post: The secretive SOE

A year on from a deadline for outlining the carrier's future, we're no wiser.

Maria Slade 03 Jun 2025
NZ's success? There will be signs
Opinion

Simon Robertson: NZ's success? There will be signs

NZ should be thinking about new technologies and leaning into space, AI and FSD.

Simon Robertson 31 May 2025
AI reaches the Employment Court
Law & Regulation

Rachael Judge: AI reaches the Employment Court

Litigants should take care to ensure that AI is used appropriately.

Rachael Judge 30 May 2025