(Telecompaper) Telecom New Zealand, Vodafone, and Telstra have issued a tender for the construction of their Tasman Global Access Cable. The cable will run between Sydney and Auckland and has a design capacity of 30 Tbps. Several international submarine cable contractors have been invited to tender for the cable and all have indicated strong interest in responding. The companies expect to choose a preferred tenderer over the next couple of months, with a contract expected to be in place by later this year and cable construction starting in 2014. The 2,300km undersea cable system is expected to enter service early in 2015, deploying the latest 100G technology. The companies are evaluating two landing options on the North Island's west coast for the New Zealand end of the cable: one south of Auckland and the other to the north. In Australia, a number of sites in northern and southern Sydney are being considered.