OPT New Caledonia (OPT-NC), the main provider of telecommunications in the French overseas territory located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, has selected Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to construct and install the Gondwana-2 subsea cable linking New Caledonia to Fiji.
The cable is intended to provide additional network capacity and resilience alongside the existing Gondwana-1 cable system, which connects New Caledonia to Australia. The five-year contract with ASN is worth approximately $40.7 million. The work is due for completion in early 2022. The operator launched the tender process for the new cable a year ago.
OPT-NC is also planning to renew its collaboration with local system integrator Intelia, which has served the operators of the South Pacific area since its creation in 2005. Intelia focuses on four industries: telecommunications, IT, media and security. Intelia is the exclusive representative of Ericsson in New Caledonia.
The new three-year agreement covers a number of network development projects, including the construction of 90 new 3G/LTE cell sites, the installation of additional capacity, and the termination of 2G services by 2023.
OPT-NC has reportedly deployed 403 cell sites so far, including 295 LTE sites and 45 LTE+ sites.
OPT New Caledonia is a government-owned company operating in mail, financial services and telecommunications. In telecommunications, OPT New Caledonia offers fixed line telephony, a GSM 3G mobile network, internet broadband access and business data services. OPT also operates the Gondwana-1 undersea communications cable connecting New Caledonia and Australia.
