News
In July 2020 the 3600km Manatua cable went live providing the first international fibre connectivity into the Cook Islands and revolutionising lives for one of the remotest nations on the planet. In the first of a new series of photo based stories Avaroa Cable, one of the major investors in the Manatua – One Polynesia Submarine Cable Consortium shares some images of how lives have changed.
The cable connects four nations, Tahiti & Bora Bora in French Polynesia; Rarotonga & Aitutaki in the Cook Islands; Niue and Samoa and prompted the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Honourable Henry Puna, to say:
“Through Manatua, our four nations have achieved together something that was unattainable individually. Because of that collaborative spirit, our people will be connected. Our lives will be connected. Our futures will be more prosperous and rewarding. This project is the dawn of a new era of cooperation and collaboration across Polynesia.”
The cable connects French Polynesia to the Cook Islands and local school children in Aitutaki Atoll in the Cook Islands re-enacting the arrival of the Manatua Cable in 2020. Staff from Avaroa Cable have been making visits to demonstrate how the fibre optic cable is connecting the nation to the global internet and what this enables. Here future engineers are being inspired at a local primary school in Rarotonga.
If a photo is worth a thousand words, we hope this new occasional series will give the opportunity to showcase some ways telecom is changing lives. If you have photos and a story to share, email Rob Chambers
