Service provider Telecom Fiji and technology company Google have reportedly signed a strategic agreement to design, build, and maintain a high-capacity terrestrial fibre optic link on the country’s main island, Viti Levu.
The link will connect the international cable landing station of Fiji’s international telecoms provider Fintel in Vatuwaqa in the southeast of the island to Google’s ICT facility in Natadola, further west.
News resource Fiji Village says this high-capacity terrestrial link will run along Fiji’s main Queens Highway corridor, enabling seamless high-speed data transmission between the two sites.
This project is part of the Pacific Connect initiative, which aims to enhance the reach, reliability and resilience of connectivity across the Pacific, while also ensuring long-term scalability for Fiji and the broader region.
Telecom Fiji, which provides fixed telephony services, broadband internet and international voice and data connectivity, will deliver the project end-to-end. It will construct the terrestrial fibre optic route between Natadola and Vatuwaqa, provide ongoing maintenance and operational support to ensure high network performance and uptime, and ensure full compliance with international standards and security best practices.
As Fiji Village explains, interconnecting these locations through a robust terrestrial fibre route ensures continuity, speed and efficiency in data transmission, which is vital for both local and regional connectivity.
Google broke ground on the new cable landing station in Natadola in December last year. The station will act as a hub to support international subsea cables that connect the island nation to the wider Pacific.
The Bulikula and Tabua subsea cable systems will land at both Natadola and Vatuwaqa. The Bulikula submarine cable connects Guam, the Marianas islands, Hawaii, Fiji and the French Polynesia. Tabua is a new transpacific subsea cable connecting the United States and Australia to Fiji.
