Getting there: Mapping the route next

Solomon Islands and Australian Governments are well underway in delivering high speed Internet to Solomon Islands.

The Coral Sea Cable System will connect Honiara to Sydney, and the Solomon Islands Domestic Network will link Honiara with Auki, Noro and Taro.

The Australian High Commission office in Honiara said a marine survey vessel, RV Northern Endeavour will start its journey in Honiara, and make its way to Auki, Noro and Taro to map the route it will take to lay the domestic cable.

The Prime Minister, senior Ministers, and government officials together with the Australian High Commissioner and CEO of Solomon Submarine Cable will go on board the vessel to inspect its facilities, meet the crew and learn more about the process for delivering this key infrastructure.

Preliminary planning by the RV Northern Endeavor will ensure the manufacture and installation of the cable is as precise as possible, taking into account Solomon Islands’ unique topography.

It also provides assurance the impact of the cable on the natural marine environment is minimized.

The transformation cable system linking Honiara with Sydney consists of two fibre optic pairs that will offer quality and reliable connection to the Internet.

The combined fibre optic pairs will provide 20-thousand gigabits per second capacity with built-in redundancy.

This compares to Solomon Islands’ current demand of around 341 megabits per second, which is reliant entirely on satellite connections.

Australia is partnering with Solomon Submarine Cable to deliver the Coral Sea Cable System and Solomon Islands Domestic Network.

Australia is funding the majority of the project, with a co-contribution from Solomon Islands.

By: Rickson Bau