Kumul Cable Lands in New Ireland

The Kumul Submarine Cable has landed in New Ireland Province.

The landing of the fiber optic services occurred on Friday 24th April in Kavieng.

The installation of the cable by PNG DataCo and partners was witnessed by New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan.

In a statement, PNG DataCo General Manager for Engineering Services, Tony Morisause, said the landing covers the entire province with distributions covering smaller islands and along the Buluminksy Highway to Namatanai.

He said PNG DataCo will work with New Ireland Provincial Government to ensure the province gets the full benefit of the infrastructure.

With the installation of the Kumul Cable, New Ireland Province will be connected to the rest of the world boosting tourism, health, agribusiness and fisheries through the new technology.

New Ireland Governor, Sir Julius Chan, said he hopes the project will deliver the expected outcomes especially through the empowerment of information to his people. 

He said the new technology will be useful for schools and students who can better research subjects allowing them to think more broadly.

The landing in New Ireland is part of PNG DataCo Limited’s National Transmission Network (NTN) project being rolled out nation-wide.

Under the Kumul submarine phase a total of 5700 km of underwater cable connecting all coastal and maritime provinces around PNG will be laid out.

Cables have been installed in West Sepik (Vanimo), East Sepik (Wewak), Madang, Manus, West New Britain(Kimbe) and New Ireland (Kavieng).

East New Britain and the Autonomous region of Bougainville are next in line for installation.

The cable is expected to go live in September this year allowing for Internet Service Providers like Telikom and Digicel to tap into the service through DataCo's wholesale service.

Picture: New Ireland Provincial Government Media

Author: 
Cedric Patjole