The Australian and Solomon Islands Governments has announced that the installation of the Coral Sea Cable will commence this weekend in Solomon Islands.
The Coral Sea Cable is a 4,700km long fibre optic undersea telecommunications cable linking Australia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The cable will provide faster, affordable and more reliable internet to Solomon Islands.
The project also includes a Solomon Islands Domestic Network, a 730km submarine cable that will connect Honiara to the provincial centres of Auki, Noro and Taro.
A ceremony will be held on Monday 15 July to mark the commencement of the cable laying process in Solomon Islands.
The cable has been manufactured in France and brought to the Pacific in a specially designed cable laying ship, the Ile de Brehat. The Ile de Brehat has begun laying the section of the cable connecting Papua New Guinea and has arrived in Honiara on the 10th of July, where it will then commence laying the Coral Sea Cable from Honiara to Sydney.
The ship will return to Solomon Islands in September to lay the Solomon Islands Domestic Network cable.
The Coral Sea Cable System and the Solomon Islands Domestic Network are on track to be ready for service by December 2019. Improved internet connectivity through the cable has potential to grow the economy, improve government services, and help transform the way that the people of Solomon Islands connect with the rest of the world.
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Further information on the Coral Sea Cable System and Solomon Islands Domestic Network can be found at www.coralseacablesystem.com.au.