Faster, high quality and more reliable internet is one step closer for Pacific communities, with the first of four landing stations for the East Micronesia Cable installed last month.
The first cable landing station for the Improving digital connectivity in the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Nauru via submarine cable project has been installed in Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), with the cable landing station installations in Kiribati, Nauru and Kosrae, FSM planned for the coming months.
The AUD135 million project is funded by Australia, with a grant of AUD60 million via the AIFFP, alongside Japan and the United States. It will deliver a 2,250-kilometre-long undersea cable and supporting infrastructure connecting Tarawa in Kiribati, Nauru and the state of Kosrae in FSM to the existing HANTRU-1 cable landing point located in Pohnpei, FSM.
Once in service, the cable is expected to provide more than 100,000 people across the three countries with more reliable internet, providing better access to services, information and worldwide markets.
The project will improve the availability of digital government services and enable increased trade and employment opportunities. It will also strengthen the countries’ resilience to climate change, assisting governments with disaster and climate change preparedness and reducing the chances of an outage in the event of adverse weather events.
Australia is proud to invest in high-quality, critical infrastructure projects which support increased economic growth and development.
The cable is expected to be ready for service in December 2025.