Aust signs deal to improve connectivity

AUSTRALIA’s Department of foreign affairs and trade has signed contracts with digital infrastructure company BW Digital to improve digital connectivity in the Pacific, an official says.
BW Digital chief executive officer Ludovic Hutier said that on Friday, its subsidiary Hawaiki Nui Submarine Cable LP, signed contracts with the Australian government to improve international connectivity throughout the Pacific.
The subsidiaries are expected to build the 22,000km Hawaiki Nui underwater fibre cable to link Australia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and the United States.
The contracts outline the importance of the development of new Hawaiki Nui subsea cable, which will significantly improve connectivity, cable resiliency and expectancy and would be an enabler for digital economy and better socio-economic outcomes for Pacific island countries.
The underwater fibre cable is a new spatial division multiplexing (SDM) fibre optic cable that would link Southeast Asia, Australasia and North America, construction of the system will start in 2024, with the cable expected to be ready for service in 2026.
The contracts agreements state that the supply and installing branching units, will be funded by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific. The cost of the underwater cable is about US$300 million (about K1 billion), according to Hutier the cables branching units will increase digital connectivity by providing the opportunity for operators to branch into the Hawaiki Nui cable trunk, connect directly to regional hubs.