International communication links

16. Until the first telegraph cable was laid between Australia (Botany Bay) and New Zealand (Cable Bay near Nelson) in 1876, shipping provided the only means of international communication. The cable also provided an onward link to the UK - at a cost of 15 shillings a word! In 1965 the first global telecommunication satellite network, INTELSAT, came into being. It was essentially a geopolitical initiative of the USA that has since grown into a system of 14 satellites and over 100 member states, including New Zealand. Access to international communication services was managed by the NZPO through its INTELSAT earth station at Warkworth for more than 20 years. This largely consisted of NZPO telephone traffic, and news and event feeds for public broadcasters. In the words of an INTELSAT official it "was built around a fundamental concern of sovereign [nations] to control foreign communications in the interest of their national security". The policy of protecting INTELSAT is often defended by an appeal to global egalitarianism. Small, developing nations are supposed to gain from a single-system approach to international satellite communications. With the global telecommunication reforms of the last decade however the role of the organisation is being reviewed¹⁵.

Footnote

¹⁵ An 'Office Of Signatory Affairs' within TCNZ now facilitates access to INTELSAT services for a wide range of users and uses.