South Pacific Manatua subsea cable deployment complete

Cable laying operations have been completed for the new "Manatua" South Pacific submarine cable system, which will provide connections from Apia, Samoa to Toahotu, Tahiti, with branching units for landings to Niue; Aitutaki, Cook Island; Raratonga, Cook Island; and Vaitape, Bora Bora.

The Manatua Cable IW a new two/three fiber pair trunk that connects Apia and Toahotu with a two-fiber pair branch to Avatele, a three-fiber pair branch to Raratonga and one-fiber pair branches to both Aitutaki and Vaitape. The cable will cover more than 3166 kilometers in total.

SubCom is the lead contractor for the project. The cable is expected to enter service in June.

The Manatua Consortium is composed of: The Office des Postes et Télécommunications (OPT), the telecoms operator of French Polynesia; Avaroa Cables Limited (ACL), the cable operator of Cook Islands, Telecom Niue Limited (TNL), the telecoms operator of Niue; and Samoa Submarine Cable Company (SSCC), the cable operator of the Independent State of Samoa.