Google Takes On the South Pacific

One of the harder routes to generate viable plans for has always been the long distance between North America and Australia. Now finally taking direct aim at the problem, however, is Google, which announced plans for the South Pacific Connect initiative today in a blog post, as the company is wont to do.

Google’s plans call for two parallel subsea cables between the US and Australia, with an interlink cable in the middle. The northern route, called Honomoana, will hook up Fiji along the way, while the southern route, called Tabua, will hook up French Polynesia, with the interlink cable connecting Fiji and French Polynesia. Additional branching units will allow for additional South Pacific destinations to be connected as well.

Vocus will help deliver the project, which will have three diverse landings in Australia. Landing information for the US side was not yet specified.  Fiji’s Fintel and French Polynesia’s OPT are also on board with the project, as they certainly have a direct interest in the connectivity. APTelecom will also be collaborating on the project. The timing of the buildout is not yet clear, although no doubt we will get a better idea in the months ahead.

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Categories: Undersea cables