Leaders of the four nations behind the Manatua One Polynesia Cable Project have announced that the cable was accepted last week from turnkey supplier SubCom.
They further announced that, following final checks and preparations by the four operators managing the project as the Manatua Consortium, comprising French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue, and Samoa, the system was officially “Ready for Service.”
The announcement is the culmination of three years of planning, design, cable manufacture, and cable laying. Since completing the cable lay in January 2020, the focus has been on commissioning and testing to confirm the system functions to specifications prior to handover.
Despite disruptions from the global COVID-19 pandemic during the latter stages of the project, which restricted the movement of critical test resources, the Manatua system has been delivered on time and within the original budget.
The new 3600 km optical fibre submarine cable now spans the South Pacific and will transform speed, capacity, resilience, and affordability. The cable connects Tahiti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Rarotonga and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa. It is the first submarine cable in the Cook Islands and Niue, which until now have relied on satellite connectivity.
Once operational, the Manatua cable is designed to provide service for at least 25 years. The system comprises two optical fibre pairs, each capable of carrying data at 10 Terabits per second (= 10,000,000 Mbps).
Citizens of the consortium countries will benefit from Manatua as each operator works to make the new infrastructure available to retailers for incorporation into their local connectivity products and services.
