Serelisoni Moceica
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
THE Kingdom of Tonga can expect improved communications to global information in the near future following a signed agreement with local telecommunications provider FINTEL.
This was made possible after FINTEL and Tonga Cable Ltd signed a Landing Party Agreement to land the submarine cable connectivity project into Fiji.
Tonga Cable Limited's chief executive officer and managing director Robert Bolouri, (right) passes his stamped and signed document to FINTEL board member Sashi Singh. Picture: JONE LUVENITOGA
"This is a milestone for the country and FINTEL and we're proud to be here to witness this collaboration between the two countries," FINTEL's chief executive officer Ioane Koroivuku said.
The World Bank funded Tonga-Fiji cable project will see the construction of a $32 million and 827km cable linking Nukua'lofa with Suva.
Mr Koroivuki said the landing would also allow Tonga to be part of the Southern Cross cable network, the main trans-Pacific link between Australia and the United States.
He said Fiji was well positioned geographically to be the hub of the Pacific, convenient for socio-economic and political collaborations as well as many other structures and associations.
TCL's managing director Robert Bolouri said the cable landing would mean increase in information capacity and speed for the kingdom.
"This would strongly benefit the economy in Tonga and we hope to extend this cable to other South Pacific countries as well," Mr Bolouri said.
The cable is expected to be in operation by early 2013.