PacRimWest Cable between Sydney and Guam is a 560 Mbit/s fibre optic cable system manufactured by Alcatel and was laid in 1995. Third-level support is provided by International Networks and Technology. PacRimWest Cable is of the same technology as TASMAN 2 Cable.

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. In-shore, it is has been protected even further by rock-dumping along its length.

There are 53 repeaters in PacRimWest. 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 PacRimWest is at Oxford Falls International Telecommunications Centre (ITC) where the second Alcatel S12 International exchange is located.

The Guam terminal station, operated by AT&T, is located in Tamuning and is the ex-Australian cable station previously operated by OTC for the now out-of-service SEACOM Cable.

Connectivity beyond Guam is via Trans-Pacific Cable No.5 or TPC-5 (Guam-Hawaii). These cables, together form a ring with PacRimEast Cable from Hawaii to New Zealand and TASMAN 2 from New Zealand to Australia.

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