In collaboration with a number of partners, including Fiji International Telecommunications, Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia, APTelecom and Vocus Group, South Pacific Connect initiative will deliver two new international subsea cables connecting Fiji and French Polynesia to both the United States and Australia.
The South Pacific Connect Initiative
Honomoana, named after the Polynesian word for “link” (hono) and “ocean” (moana), will connect the United States and Australia to French Polynesia while Tabua, named after a sacred Fijian whale’s tooth, will connect the United States and Australia to Fiji.
In addition, the South Pacific Connect initiative will construct physically diverse cable landing stations in Fiji and French Polynesia and connect them with an interlink cable. This will serve to connect transpacific routes, improve reliability, add capacity and reduce latency for users in the Pacific Islands and around the world.
“The South Pacific Connect initiative will create a ring between Australia, Fiji and French Polynesia. This ring will include pre-positioned branching units that will allow other countries and territories of Oceania to take advantage of the reliability and resilience resulting from the initiative. This is one of the first projects of its kind in the Pacific, providing the ability to bring redundant international connectivity to a region that is susceptible to natural disasters,” explained Brian Quigley, VP, Global Network Infrastructure, Google Cloud.
Improving Access to Digital Connectivity
Paving the way for a more interconnected and fortified digital future for the entire Pacific region and beyond, the Prime Minister of Fiji, Honorable Sitiveni Rabuka, said, “Through this partnership, we aim to leave behind a lasting legacy of economic growth, skill development, and progress that extends its benefits to all. Fiji expresses its profound gratitude to Google for this collaboration and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to support this transformative initiative, dedicated to fostering peace, prosperity, and a brighter future for our people and the broader global community.”
“The system will establish three diverse Australian landings along with dual cable paths to the US, substantially improving the resilience of Australia’s critical connections to the world,” added Vocus CEO Ellie Sweeney.
Since 2010, OPT has started to build its submarine cable network to allow access to the internet for the French Polynesia population and reduce the digital divide for remote islands. These include Honotua linking Tahiti to Hawaii (2010); Natitua linking 22 islands of Tuamotu, Marquisas and Australes archipelagos to Tahtiti (2018 and 2023); and Manatua linking Tahiti to Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa (2020).
“OPT is proud to partner with Google to expand its network and expertise in this fantastic project for our region and communities,” noted Jean-Francois Martin, CEO of OPT.
“Increasing the reliability and resilience of digital connectivity in the Pacific is a fundamental objective of APTelecom and collaborating with Google is a great example of how companies can work together to accelerate and deliver connectivity solutions that will change the world,” pointed out Eric Handa, CEO of APTelecom.
