A fiber-optic cable that connects Australia, New Zealand and the US will be put in place at a cost $US400 million.

The Pacific fibre cable, which has a length of 13,600 kilometers, is the product of a joint effort Pacific Fibre and Pacnet, the Asian telecommunications provider.

The cable will land in Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles. The project is expected to be ready for service by 2013.

The two companies will have joint ownership of the cable. Pacific Fibre and Pacnet will also share responsibility for the project's supply contract, operations and maintenance.

''As Australia and New Zealand look towards deploying national broadband networks that will raise broadband penetration and access speeds, this new cable that we are building with Pacific Fibre will deliver the enhanced international connectivity that is essential to support these broadband initiatives,'' said Bill Barney, chief executive of Pacnet, in an interview with the Sunday Morning Herald.

He adds that the investment was vital to his company's strategy of expanding undersea cable facilities into Australasia.