23 Apr 2018

Internet cable to reach Sols next year

1:50 pm on 23 April 2018

The Solomon Islands is to receive high-speed cable-based internet by the end of 2019.

ERDF (Electricity Network Distribution France) and Louis Dreyfus company install an electric submarine cable and optical fiber between Quiberon and Belle-Ile-en-mer, western France, in 2015.

Photo: AFP

Solomons Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull have confirmed in a joint statement that a new submarine telecommunications cable will link the Solomon Islands with Australia before the end of next year.

Canberra will fund the majority of the project which will also connect to Papua New Guinea through landing points in Port Moresby and Honiara.

The cable project will improve international internet connectivity, enhance security and boost economic growth, the statement said.

Currently, Solomon Islands is wholly reliant on a satellite feed for its internet access.

The agreement is said to be worth $US 2.1 million.

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