The Humboldt Cable will connect Valparaiso (Chile) and Sydney, with provision for branches to additional locations including Juan Fernandez (islands 670km off the coast of Chile), Easter Island, New Zealand, and Antarctica.

It will interconnect in Sydney with other cable systems serving Asia.

"We have set an ambitious goal to transform Chile into a digital hub for Latin America," said Desarrollo País CEO Patricio Rey Sommer.

"The project is entering its most challenging stage with the technical definition of the route and schedules for execution now being set, and we have asked that suppliers' proposals be based on an Open Cable System model."

H2 Cable is a subsidiary of BW Group, which also owns submarine cable company Hawaiki.

BW Digital CEO Remi Galasso said "We look forward to working with Desarrollo Pais to realise what will become an absolutely critical piece of digital infrastructure for South America, providing unprecedented scale and quality of connectivity with the Asia Pacific and Oceania.".

International Connectivity Services, a Hawaiki subsidiary, will finalise the Humboldt design, initiate the procurement process, and deal with prospective major customers.