$85.5m cable to lower cost
closer to the rest of the Pacific and to shore up important links with other Franco Pacific territories.
“It’s a question of survival, politically, economically, socially and culturally.”
THE Gondwana-2 submarine cable which will link New Caledonia and the rest of the Pacific and shore up the French territory’s communication links was received at Fiji International Telecommunications Pte Ltd (FINTEL) Vatuwaqa communications centre in Suva on Thursday.
The 1775 kilometre, $85.5 million cable by the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of Nouvelle-Caledowill nia secure the New Caledonia’s international digital links to the world and strengthen existing ones with other
Pacific
Island
Countries.
FINTEL
CEO George
Samisoni said Fiji and FINTEL were truly humbled to be of service to
New
Caledonia as the socio-economic benefits were mutual for both countries.
“The project took seven years and had gone through three French Ambassador’s to Fiji,” he said.
“The cable will be under the sea for 25 years and will be like an umbilical cord.” Mr Samisoni said by connecting New Caledonia to Fiji via cable would reduce the cost and delay in sending data and would be a step of preparation for the next generation of information and communications technology (ICT), as well as providing trade, culture and friendship between.
He also said New Caledonia had previously been connected by one submarine cable to Australia, and information and communication would go through Australia before it could go anywhere else in the world.
He said the further data travelled the higher it would cost because it involved more operators along the way whether they were international or domestic operators.
New Caledonia now has direct access to Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa and American Samoa, it also has indirect access to the Cook Islands, Niue, Kiribati and Tokelau, French Polynesia and Wallis and Fortuna which are of particular interest as Franco Pacific territories.
The Gondwana-2 is the 12th submarine cable to land in Fiji and is expected to be operational by August.
George Samisoni.