The Connect Tasmania Core is the name used by the

Government of Tasmania The Tasmanian Government is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. The leader of the party or coalition with the Confidence and supply, confidence of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly, the lower house of the ...

to refer to a fibre optic communications network linking all major cities of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and the rest of Australia. The government intends to offer access to the network in order to facilitate a more competitive telecommunications industry.

Components

TasGovNet

TasGovNet is the name of the on-island backbone. It is 420 km long and links the major cities of

Burnie Burnie ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Pataway'') is a port city located on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north ...

, Devonport, Launceston and

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. It also links George Town, where it is intended to connect to the fibre optic cables that were laid with the

Basslink The Basslink () electricity interconnector is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable linking the electricity grids of the states of Victoria and Tasmania in Australia, crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victori ...

submarine electricity cable. The fibre was built by private company Tas21 before being purchased by the

in 2003 for $23 million.

Basslink fibre connector

The trans-

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

segment of the network is the submarine fibre optic cable which was laid alongside the

HVDC A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...

electrical cable. It will connect to the TasGovNet cable at George Town.

Partners

The Tasmanian Research and Education Network intends to use the TasGovNet and Basslink fibre as part of a network to link major educational and research organisations in Tasmania, including the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

TasTAFE TasTAFE is a Tasmanian tertiary education body of the Australian state-based Technical and Further Education system run by the Tasmanian Government. The main campuses are located at Hobart, Warrane, Claremont, Tasmania, Claremont, Glenorchy, Tasmani ...

Australian Maritime College The Australian Maritime College (AMC) is a tertiary education institution based in Launceston, Tasmania, established by the ''Maritime College Act 1978'' (Cth). Tertiary education is provided and organised by the University of Tasmania (UTAS) a ...

and

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water. The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the S ...

. On 21 December 2007, the Tasmanian Government announced Aurora Energy as being the preferred Strategic Alliance Partner to commercialise the government's on-island fibre network.

References

{{Reflist Bass Strait Buildings and structures in Tasmania Communications in Australia