LOCALS will help build Google’s ICT facility in Natadola, as the global technology giant commits to sourcing as much local service as possible in its bid to build a pan-Pacific fibre optic communication network.
While signing with Telecom Fiji Limited this week for the construction of its domestic fibre optic cable network, Google Network Investments’ global lead Brian Quigley said more Fijian contractors were expected to be hired for the construction of the ICT facility in Natadola.
“We currently have completed the design of the facility that is out to final bids with a series of local Fijian contractors, and we expect to be awarding it this month, and we will start seeing physical construction within the next eight weeks,” Mr Quigley said.
“We landed the cable in Natadola in February, and we landed it in the United States about two or three weeks ago in Los Angeles.
“So the cable from Los Angeles to Natadola is here waiting for the facility to be completed and then we will turn it on.”
The state-of-the-art ICT facility will support Google’s transnational subsea telecommunication cables across the Pacific, with Fiji as a hub.
The cables will connect Fiji to the United States mainland, strengthening connectivity with North America, to Australlia and Japan, expanding regional digital integration and to Chile, a first such cable route for Fiji and the Pacific.
Mr Quigley said involving locals in its project was part of the company’s core values under the Pacific Connect initiative.
“When we look at the Pacific Connect initiative, we have three primary values that we focus on and the first is sustainability,” Mr Quigley said.
“It is critical that we continue to drive down the amount of power that is consumed for the internet.
“The second is local partnerships. We truly believe that the communities that we provide content for, we should also provide business. We have been looking across the board.
“While Google now has an entity in Fiji where we have a bank account and postings for employees, we are still relying on our local partners.”
He said their partnerships with the Fiji International Telecommunications Ltd (FINTEL) and Telecom Fiji were key to establishing the ICT Facility.
“We have invested in FINTEL, and we are expanding the Suva facility that is existing, and this will all be in our new construction program,” he said.
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated June 11, 2025
