The new high speed telecommunication service for Ha’apai went live on 27 March 2018, said Robert Bolouri, Project Manager for the Tonga Cable Limited. The service was launched by the Prime Minister Hon. 'Akilisi Pohiva in Ha'apai.

Robert, a former Chief Executive Officer and now Project Manager for Tonga Cable Ltd., said that the work to extend the Submarine Optic Fibre Cable to Ha’apai and Vava’u began on 27 December 2017. The cable reached Pangai, Ha’apai, on 2 January 2018, and was connected to the TCL base, adjacent to the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga compound at Pulela’a. The service went live on Tuesday, 27 March.

The Prime Minister Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva was at Pangai, for the launch of the service but, according to a Media Release from the Prime Minister's Office, launched “the arrival of the submarine optic fibre cable in Pangai, Ha’apai on the morning of Tuesday, 27 of March 2018.” The submarine optic fibre cable was said to have a capacity to “handle 12 million phone calls at the same time.”

Robert Bolouri, said that the cable had reached Vava’u, and was connected to the Tonga Cable base in Neiafu. The high speed telecommunication service for Vava’u is expected to be launched this week on Friday, 6 April.

Telecommunication services in Tonga are serviced by two telecommunication networks, run by the Tonga Communications Corporation and Digicel Tonga Ltd.

Tonga Cable Ltd, is a Public Enterprise, and its three share holders are: the Tonga Government two thirds, Tonga Communications Corporation 16.67% and Digicel Tonga Limited 16.67%.

Southern Cross Cable

Tonga was first connected through a Submarine Optic Fibre Cable in August 2013 to the Southern Cross Cable network in Fiji, and onwards to the Equinix data centre in Australia, the international hub and Tonga's gateway to connect to the rest of the world.

The initial project to lay the 827km  Submarine Optic Fiber Cable from Fiji to Nuku’alofa was estimated to cost USD$32.8m, funded with grants from the World Bank of USD$17.6m, Asian Development Bank USD$9.7m and USD$6.6m from the Tongan Government.

The management of the service in Tonga was the responsibility of the Tonga Cable Ltd. Initially, the two share holders of Tonga Cable Ltd, were the Tonga Government as the major shareholder, and the Tonga Communications Corporation.

Robert said that for Tonga Cable Ltd to extent its service to Ha’apai and Vava’u, it needed USD$8.3m. There was $5m left over from the $32.8m that was raised to fund the initial connection from Fiji to Tonga, but raise to the extra funds government offered to sell a portion of its shares in Tonga Cable Ltd to Digicel Tonga, who came in as a new shareholder.

Robert said that after laying the cable and setting up of Tonga Cable Ltd. bases in Pangai and Neiafu, the total project expenditure was USD$8.1m, “so there is a little bit of money left over.”