Internet users in China and New Zealand are expected to benefit from the Pacific-wide Internet agreement signed between China Telecom Global and New Zealand telecom firm Spark. (Photo : REUTERS)
Internet traffic between China and New Zealand, as well as the Pacific region, is expected to improve following the signing of the deal between New Zealand telecom company Spark and Chinese giant China Telecom Global on Thursday, Feb. 25, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Under the deal, the two companies would join up to carry all their respective Internet traffic between China and New Zealand and throughout the Pacific, which is seen to give Spark a leading position in Chinese transit services, the report said.
Lindsay Cowley, Spark general manager for wholesale and international operations, said in a statement that the improvements would lower latency times between the two countries, reduce load times for Web content, and improve shared application performance, which is especially important for businesses running remote applications.
"This collaboration will provide the largest and most direct data transit services, not just between China and New Zealand, but throughout the Pacific too," Cowley said.
"China Telecom Global has the technology, resources, and commitment to the development of its global operations and capabilities to establish a leading position in the international telecommunication market," Cowley added.
Cowley said that for New Zealand businesses, it is more important to have high-quality access into the Chinese Internet market, which has over 600 million Internet users, not just for their own success, but for the wider New Zealand economy.
In another statement, China Telecom Global vice president of carrier business development Steven Tan said that it was China Telecom Global's first such agreement in Oceania, which will allow the company to deliver Chinese content directly to New Zealand and into the Pacific.
An article published by computerworld.co.nz said that China Telecom Global provides leading access into the Chinese Internet market, hosting more than 2.3 million websites. It controls more than 70 percent of Chinese Internet resources and manages more than two-thirds of all Chinese domain names.
The article cited the Chinese telecom's capability as it has over 63 Points of Presence around the world, more than 300 backbone nodes in China providing 4,000 Gbps of bandwidth, and a global network across 72 countries with over 33 submarine cables.
