Coral Sea Cable System makes big progress

News and Business

The 4,700km Coral Sea Cable System under construction by Australian operator Vocus has achieved two major milestones, with the cable now installed at the landing sites at both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

In the Solomon Islands, a ceremony featuring a symbolic handover of a “golden buoy” (pictured) formally marked the beginning of work to lay the cable between Honiara and Sydney. Vocus was contracted by the Australian Government to construct the Coral Sea Cable System.

Vocus chief executive for enterprise and government, Andrew Wildblood, said: “This is a large scale and complex submarine cable build and our team, together with our partners, are doing a great job. It’s exciting to reach more key milestones and for this cable system to be taking shape. Vocus is very proud of our role in building critical infrastructure for the people, businesses and communities of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.”

The cable links Sydney, Australia to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and Honiara, Solomon Islands. The four fibre-pair system will deliver a minimum of 20Tbps capacity to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and have a total capacity of 40Tbps. This will significantly augment Papua New Guinea’s existing submarine cable capacity. The Solomon Islands currently relies solely on satellite for its international voice and data communications.

The project also includes a 730km submarine cable system connecting Honiara to Auki (Malaita Island), Noro (New Georgia Island) and Taro Island. The Coral Sea Cable System and the Solomon Islands domestic network are on track to be ready for service by December 2019, said Vocus.

For more information, visit www.coralseacablesystem.com.au