Under Water Cable
On November 25, 2013, the Alcatel-owned Subsea Cable vessel “Isle De Re” completed laying the 1,259km fibre-optic cable between Port Vila in Vanuatu and Suva in Fiji. The project was driven by Interchange, a Vanuatu-based company, who, in conjunction with the French telecommunications corporation Alcatel-Lucent managed this major $US30M undertaking.
The milestone cable project, which will link Vanuatu directly into the high capacity Southern Cross cable between Sydney and Hawaii, is to be officially opened on January 15, 2014. Dignitaries from both Vanuatu and Fiji will attend this historical event. The submarine cable system will have multiple benefits for both countries in the fields of communication, medicine and education to name a few.
A further link is underway between Vanuatu and Noumea which will further enhance the region’s attractiveness as an ICT hub by creating diversity in international cable routes for Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Interchange is a Vanuatu-based company committed to a better future for Melanesia by providing nation-building telecommunications technologies and infrastructure to communities throughout the entire region.
