THE Bulikula and Tabua undersea telecommunications cables by Google have landed at the Fiji International Telecommunications Ltd’s (FINTEL) landing facility in Vatuwaqa, Suva, opening Fiji up to unprecedented regional and international connectivity and significant opportunities in domestic economic growth.
Announcing the arrival of two cables, Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, MSME and Communications Manoa Kamikamica said they represent “a significant moment for Fiji” as the infrastructure will not only connect Fiji more deeply with the world, but will empower Fijians with the tools needed to thrive in a digital age.
“We also welcome investors to Fiji, and we will continue to support current and new investors as we work towards strengthening and diversifying our economy,” he said.
The cables are part of Google’s Pacific Connect project announced over 2023 and 2024, which will see the delivery of six new cables; Honomoana and Tabua cables under its South Pacific Connect initiative, Bulikula and Halaihai under its Central Pacific Connect initiative and Proa and Taihei cables connecting the Northern Pacific to Japan.
In Fiji, the Fiji Government, FINTEL, the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) and Amalgamated Telecom Holdings are local partners in the project.
FINTEL’s chief executive officer George Samisoni said FINTEL will be providing the required facilities, utilities and management of the cable systems in Vatuwaqa while discussions are in progress for FINTEL to provide the same at Google’s new state-of-the-art landing station in Natadola, where two more Google cables are expected to land soon.
“This Google Pacific Connect is designed to have cable landings to most PICs and territories,” Mr Samisoni said.
“(There are) Six cables in total,creating North, Central and South Pacific rings, connecting core nodes in the Marianas, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam and Hawaii.
“Each of the nodes will have multiple international connections, including Australia, Chile, Japan, NZ, Philippines, Taiwan and US.
“Apart from resilience and redundancy options to our current only international gateway in Vatuwaqa, FINTEL and Fiji will have more direct international connections to PICs and territories.”
Google’s South Pacific Connect initiative will connect Fiji and French Polynesia to both the United States and Australia and its local partners are FINTEL in Fiji, Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia, APTelecom in the US and Australia’s Vocus Group.
Its central Pacific Connect initiative will connect Guam with Fiji and is in collaboration with Fiji’s ATH, APTelecom and Australia’s Telstra.
“Creating a premier connectivity hub in Fiji with the arrival of the Bulikula and Tabua subsea cables is an exciting and significant effort as we start 2025,” Google Cloud’s vice president Global Network Infrastructure, Brian Quigley said.
“These subsea cable systems are the product of close collaboration among several partners including the Fiji Government and FINTEL and will help bridge the digital divide by providing improved connectivity for Fiji to the United States, Australia, Japan and Chile and other countries in the Pacific region.”
NOTE: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fiji Times dated January 28, 2025.
