GLOBALLY, about 95 per cent of Internet traffic is carried by fibre optic telecom cables and Fiji is no exception, with the introduction of 5G depending on a strong domestic fibre backbone to deliver high speeds, ultra-low latency and reliable connectivity, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Communications Manoa Kamikamica.<\/p>\n
While delivering his address at the Pacific Fiber and Training conference at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa yesterday, Mr Kamikamica said these cables represented more than infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are strategic investments that will cement Fiji\u2019s role as a key regional connectivity hub, enabling economic growth and digital innovation across the Pacific,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Kamikamica said the Google South Pacific Connect initiative, a multi-country subsea cable system, would soon link Fiji directly into global Internet backbones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the landing of the Bulikula Cable at Natadola, a historic moment for Fiji\u2019s digital infrastructure. This is just one of the cables getting connected to Fiji.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, Google\u2019s decision to partner with Telecom Fiji Limited on the critical terrestrial link connecting its two cable landing sites demonstrates their strong trust in the expertise and capabilities of our local fibre provider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kamikamica said this partnership highlighted Fiji\u2019s growing reputation as a reliable and skilled player in regional digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen operational, these cables will not only expand our international capacity by multiple terabits per second as well as reduce latency, but more importantly provide the redundancy necessary to safeguard connectivity during natural disasters\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kamikamica also commended Telecom Fiji for their critical role in developing Fiji\u2019s domestic fibre backbone.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelecom Fiji Limited also has previously invested in the fibre ring around Viti Levu, providing resilient terrestrial connectivity, and has recently laid new fibre infrastructure in Vanua Levu, significantly strengthening the national network. \u201cTheir effort builds on investments from the government, such as the establishment of the Savusavu Cable Landing Station and the domestic submarine cable routing between Suva and Labasa via the Tui Samoa Cable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kamikamica said both are key to linking our two main islands and supporting inter-island communications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis robust backbone in place, the Government is able to now push mobile network operators to commit to rolling out 5G in every city and town across Fiji, ensuring Fijians can benefit from the transformative power of next-generation connectivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to this robust fibre backbone, we are now able to provide high capacity fibre connections to businesses across Fiji, particularly supporting the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kamikamica said reliable, high-speed connectivity is key to attracting and sustaining investment in this vibrant industry and is creating jobs and expanding Fiji\u2019s economic opportunities.<\/p>\n
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated August 14, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLOBALLY, about 95 per cent of Internet traffic is carried by fibre optic telecom cables and Fiji is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[64,63,237,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-78353","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-internet","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}