Tonga Cable Ltd has moved into a new two-storey building at Sopu ready to operate a US$33 million submarine fibre-optic cable telecommunications network for Tonga, which should be completed by the end of July 2013.

Robert Bolouri, Interim Managing Director of Tonga Cable Ltd., said this afternoon that the cable project is on schedule and progressing well, and they had just completed Marine Survey between Fiji and Tonga. 

"The cable laying will take place in May 2013 and should be completed by the end of July 2013," he said.

On October 8 TCL's staff of eight moved into the new building constructed by Ca'Bella Pacific Construction. The administration level is on the ground floor and the upper level will house the equipment and Network Operation Centre.

When the service comes into full operation it is expected to have a total capacity of 320Gbits, which is 6,000 times more than the 50-55Mbits full capacity of the current satellite network that is currently available in Tonga. But Robert had cautioned that the 320Gbits is the full available capacity, "but that is not what they will utilize. At the start of the project 20g will be lit and ready. How much of that will be used is up to the communication companies in Tonga."

Project

In May, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Network of France won the contract to lay the 827 km submarine cable from Fiji to Tonga.

The total estimated cost of the project at US$33million is jointly funded, 80% by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and 20% by the Tonga Communications Corporation.

Tonga Cable Ltd. was established in 2009, with it ownership 80% government and 20% TCC. The company received a wholesale communications Licence on 18 October last year, that will allow it to provide wholesale telecommunications networks to telecommunications carriers, including the TCC, the Digicel Group and other Internet Service Providers.