TASMAN 2 Cable between Sydney and Guam is a 560 Mbit/s fibre optic cable system manufactured by Alcatel and was laid in 1992. Third-level support is provided by International Networks and Technology. TASMAN 2 Cable is of the same technology as PacRimWest Cable but has 3 fibre pairs whereas PacRimWest has only 2 fibre pairs.

The 2-fibre pair cable for the project was manufactured in Australia by the Tasman Cable Company at Port Botany (now Alcatel Submarine Networks) and by Alcatel in France. Alcatel also supplied the repeaters for the project.

Unlike analogue coaxial cables, the inner and outer conductors do not carry any signals, only the DC power for the repeaters. The signal path uses the optical fibres.

When the cable comes close to shore, the cable is sheathed in one or two layers of armour wire for protection. To further protect the cable, it is buried from shore to the 2,000 metre depth contour.

There are 18 repeaters in TASMAN 2. A typical fibre optic cable repeater is 1500mm long and 350mm in diameter, weighs approximately 300kg (in air) and is thoroughly tested to ensure a reliable 25 year working life. The repeater case must be strong enough to withstand the great pressure of water at the ocean bottom at depths of up to 6 km. The water pressure strength is more than 80 tonnes per sq. metre.

The Australian terminal station for TASMAN 2 is at Paddington International Telecommunications Terminal where one of the two Alcatel S12 International exchanges is located.

The New Zealand terminal station, operated by Telecom New Zealand, is located in Whenuapai, Auckland.

Connectivity beyond New Zealand is via PacRimEast Cable to Hawaii. These cables, together with Trans-Pacific Cable No.5 or TPC-5 (Guam-Hawaii) form a ring with PacRimWest Cable (Guam-Sydney).

	Technical Details
Laid	1995
Capacity	560 Mbit/s Fibre Optic Cable System
Transmission Capacity	22,680 x 64kbit/s channels (7,560 per fibre pair)
Total cable length	2,240 km
Number of Repeaters	18
Repeater Spacing	123 km
System Design Life	25 years
System Voltage	4420 volts at 1.6 amps
Maximum Depth	5,000 m
Landing Points	Bondi Beach, Sydney Muriwai Beach, New Zealand

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