Basslink misses 30 June deadline

update The Basslink fibre-optic cable linking the mainland to Tasmania is technically live, but hasn't yet carried one of its first major customer's traffic across Bass Strait.

Michael Coates, general manager of Basslink Telecoms, had flagged the 30 June self-imposed deadline for when the cable would commence carrying customer traffic.

Missing the deadline means little in the broader context of the cable's deployment, however, with it having already shifted back months, in part because of third-party relationships with Victorian utilities that it needed bedding down before the cable could be used.

Coates was unavailable for comment today, though Basslink customer and internet service provider Internode hasn't complained, and is looking forward to reducing its reliance on Telstra in coming weeks. "Basslink is in final link-testing before our part of it is handed over to us. It's all going well as far as I'm aware," Internode supremo Simon Hackett told ZDNet.com.au today.

Internode too will need to run tests before pushing production traffic through the new fibre cable. Hackettt said the cable was technically live.

"I expect Internode will in turn do its own internal testing for a week or two before putting the link into service alongside our existing exorbitant-cost Telstra link," Hackett said. "Basslink and Internode [are] ensuring the brand spanking new service is stable and error free before we start moving production traffic," he added.