Polynesian submarine cable as early as 2018

Transcript

A new submarine cable for internet communication for Polynesian countries could be laid by 2018.

Talks on the development were held in New Zealand recently, and engaged the leaders of the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue and Tokelau.

The Cook Islands finance minister, Mark Brown, who was at the meeting, says there they heard from two vendors for the cable - Auckland-based Hawaiki, and Bluesky.

Mr Brown says the group is now looking into what option is the most viable, and getting finances in order.

MARK BROWN: Currently our internet needs are being met by satellite transmission but as the increasing demand for bandwidth and broadband is continually increasing here in the Cook Islands by consumers and businesses in particular, the prospect of cable connections is becoming more and more important for us. So we were very happy at the meeting, the discussions that were held with NZ looking to play a role in supporting any of the countries who are looking to hook up to cable. We had presentations from a couple of vendors who are looking at cable projects running through the Pacific with the possibility of connecting our countries. And the outcome of the meeting is that we are hopeful by the end of next month that we may have some viable options to consider in terms of supporting one or the other of the cable vendors with the construction of a cable connection.

MARY BAINES: So this could be a reality by 2018 I understand?

MARK BROWN: Yes. If we do see an option that is viable and if we can get our financing options in order, I am very hopeful we would be able to get the cable laid and be connected by at least 2018.

MARY BAINES: Do we know what the costs are looking like now and how that would be funded?

MARK BROWN: Not at this stage. The costs are still changing and the options I guess that are becoming more available, in terms of for example French Polynesia wanting to connect up to our cable to provide them with redundancy for their cable connections, which would certainly reduce the costs if you like, where we are sharing the costs of the cable. But we have had feasibility studies done nearly two and a half years ago now by the Asia Development Bank and at the time a connection was estimated to be 30 million dollars. So we would probably be looking at a mix of financing, to make the financing options available for us, which would include putting some of our own money into the construction of the cable, looking at our development partners for either grant funding or concessional borrowing through agencies like the ADB, and also considering equity financing from private sector partners who may want to invest in the cable as well.

MARY BAINES: Better internet access - what do you think this will do for the people and businesses in the Pacific, in the Cook Islands?

MARK BROWN: Well studies have shown that by increasing the broadband connectivity has a direct impact on the GDP of a country. But apart from the economic benefits that we would see from businesses being able to hook up and having access to cheaper connections on the internet. There are also the social benefits that can be accrued through the better delivery of education services, particularly to our more remote outer islands. And also the support for the health services, in terms of being able to transmit information a lot quicker and a lot more accurately using internet services. So there's a lot of benefits to be gained.