The 4,700 km cable will link the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Australia, boosting international connectivity and bring new high-speed connectivity to the region, as well as much needed upgrades to both countries existing infrastructures.
“This is the third submarine cable project that Vocus Group has undertaken with ASN since 2014,” said Kevin Russell, managing director and CEO of Vocus Group. “Building this critical infrastructure on behalf of the Australian Government will bring fast, reliable and affordable connectivity to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, together with the associated economic and social benefits.”
The news comes part of Australia’s development assistance program to the pacific and will connect Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and Honiara in the Solomon Islands to Sydney via this new fibre optic cable system.
“We are proud to support Vocus Group with the Coral Sea Cable project. This new contract validates our approach to provide systems with ultimate performance and reliability to our customers, enabling capacity and connectivity enhancements for end-users, as we continue to expand our presence in the Asia-Pacific region,” added Philippe Piron, president of Alcatel Submarine Networks.
The project is due for completion in late 2019. Once completed the new system will offer capacity of at least 20Tbps for each of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to connect with Australia. The project also includes the construction of a domestic submarine network within the Solomon Islands, linking Honiara to the outer provinces.
At the time, Julie Bishop, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said: "Australia's strong support for this project is a reflection of our enduring commitment to the Pacific, where we work with partners to support the region's stability, security and prosperity."