A critical infrastructure countdown has begun for the South Pacific’s digital economy.
The existing Southern Cross subsea cable system, which has anchored regional internet traffic since the turn of the millennium, is officially facing decommissioning, forcing major network reconfigurations.
This was revealed by Fiji International Telecommunications Pte Ltd (FINTEL) in the ATH 2026 annual report, which noted the current Southern Cross Now cable system is due for retirement in 2030 after 30 years of service.
The looming deadline, it said, reinforced the need for continued investment in international connectivity resilience.
As Fiji’s sole international telecommunications gateway operator, FINTEL said it was racing to establish defensive network layers before the legacy pipeline went dark. The company said network resilience had become a critical business imperative, with enterprises acknowledging the immediate adverse impact of network outages on their operations and customer experience.
According to FINTEL, submarine cables transmit approximately 99 per cent of the world’s telecommunications, and remain critical infrastructure because of speed, capacity and security, making international connectivity diversity a matter of regional security.
“For Fiji and the Pacific islands, cybersecurity and information integrity, and technological resilience are increasingly important to national and economic stability,” FINTEL stated.
“International connectivity diversity is, therefore, essential to the region’s continued digital development.”
The stakes extend far beyond Fiji’s shores given that FINTEL’s infrastructure serves as the primary regional digital lifeline.
“FINTEL’s international connectivity also supports direct or indirect access and resilience for Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, Kiribati, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna, and Tuvalu.” To mitigate the 2030 retirement risk, the company is aggressively expanding its subsea partnerships.
“FINTEL is, therefore, considering additional subsea cable systems to strengthen resilience, including systems associated with Southern Cross, Google and Hawaiki,” it said.
This strategy builds on its anchor asset, a $46 million investment in the Southern Cross Next (SX-Next) subsea cable system in 2023, expected to extend Fiji’s international connectivity to 2050, and progressively provide competitive, high-speed international backbone capacity for internet services in Fiji and the Pacific.
FINTEL added that subsea cable and satellite connectivity would continue to serve complementary roles, pursuing opportunities to attract global players while strengthening core telehousing and co-location services at the Vatuwaqa Communications Centre.
Meanwhile, FINTEL recorded a turnover of $18.5 million, compared with $16.5m in 2025. Its profit before tax was $7.4m, compared with $4.8m in 2025, while profit after tax was $5.7m, compared with $3.8m last year. It also paid a dividend of $4.4m to the shareholder, compared with $2.9m in 2025.
