Local carrier SCCI and New Zealand submarine cable system operator Hawaiki Submarine Cable have signed a multi-million-dollar contract to provide SCCI with a turnkey solution to connect the island nation of New Caledonia to Hawaiki.
The link will include a subsea branch to the capital city of Noumea and significant capacity on the transpacific cable.
SCCI has been created to develop, fund and operate Tomoo, New Caledonia’s new international submarine cable system. In partnership with Hawaiki, Tomoo will link New Caledonia directly to the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Tomoo is scheduled for completion by 2021.
The new cable benefits from a customised network design, including connection of both New Caledonia’s Main Island and Isle of Pines. The new cable has been named ‘Tomoo’ after an indigenous sea snake, a source of protection according to tribal legends.
SCCI says the connection of the Hawaiki cable to New Caledonia heralds a new era for the nation, which currently has only one submarine cable connection, which is operated by the incumbent government-owned carrier.
The Hawaiki cable system is the fastest and largest capacity link between Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and mainland United States, with a design capacity of 67 Tbps.
Launched in July 2018, it recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its connection to American Samoa. In that time, the US territory has reported a 10-times increase in internet speeds and an exponential increase in business and residential connections.
