New Wave Media

Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP and TE SubCom announced that system manufacturing has commenced for the 14,000 km Hawaiki transpacific cable system scheduled for completion in mid-2018. Hawaiki will link Australia and New Zealand to the mainland United States, as well as Hawaii, with options to expand to several South Pacific islands.

 

Co-developed by New Zealand-based entrepreneurs Sir Eion Edgar, Malcolm Dick and Remi Galasso, the carrier-neutral cable system will be the highest cross-sectional capacity link between the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand.

 

“We’ve seen tremendous progress with Hawaiki in the past several months, with each step bringing us closer to a completed, working system,” said Remi Galasso, CEO of Hawaiki. “We remain on time and on budget, and trust that in conjunction with TE SubCom, Hawaiki will be fully lit by mid-2018, bringing competition and diversity to the market, and vital connectivity to the region.”

 

So far more than 1,000 kilometers of lightweight cable has been manufactured for Hawaiki at TE SubCom’s facility in Newington, N.H., and manufacturing of Hawaiki repeaters is underway.

 

“The manufacturing stage of Hawaiki is moving forward precisely as planned and overall progress is only going to gain momentum from here,” said Aaron Stucki, president of TE SubCom. “With manufacturing of cable and repeaters underway, we are right where we should be on our deployment timeline.”

 

Detailed landing surveys have been completed for sites in Pacific City, Oregon and Kapolei, Hawaii. The Hawaiki marine route survey is ongoing, with highlights including completion of deep sea survey from Oregon to Hawaii; survey has covered all of U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with the completion of the branch to American Samoa; and progress through the South Pacific Islands continues unabated.

 

Hawaiki has also added three additional branching units to enable the future connection of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.

 

In September 2016, Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP officially submitted for a submarine cable landing license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).