PacRim cable poised for hook
up in 2009
The sea of change that
this project represents is absolutely tremendous, says governor
by Fili Sagapolutele
Samoa News Correspondent
The technical
staff spearheading the Pacific Rim East (PacRim) undersea fiber
optic cable project, which will connect American Samoa with Hawaii,
are confident that the fiber optic cable will be operational
in the first quarter of 2009.
In the territory
for Gov. Togiola Tulafono's signing of the documents that will
facilitate bringing the multi-million dollar project to the territory
and to lay the groundwork with government and environmental agencies
are John Hibbard, CEO of Hibbard Consulting Pty Limited; Doug
Nielsen, project manager for Hibbard, Craig Walton of Telecom
New Zealand and Thomas Soerensen, regional marketing director
for Alcatel-Lucent.
Alcatel-Lucent
is the contractor bringing in the vessel to pick up the PacRim
cable - which is currently located about 100 miles off American
Samoa at a depth of about 15,000 feet. The vessel has equipment
to detect the cable and then recover and relay it to American
Samoa.
Hibbard, whose
company is managing the project said the cable will be landed
at Fogagogo and connected to the Blue Sky site in Ili'ili which
will be used as the main center for distribution to private sector,
government and others.
He said the vessel
is expected to bring the cable to American Samoa some time in
November and they expect this work to take some 30-days or so.
"Currently
this project is expected to be completed, meaning connecting
American Samoa to the cable, during the first quarter of 2009,
depending on weather conditions," said Hibbard.
While on island
the group is talking to various government agencies regarding
necessary permits for land use and environmental issues. They
are also talking to local people that could be possible subcontractors
for the project.
Hibbard said
American Samoa will benefit greatly from the fiber optic cable,
which will provide faster and better internet connection as well
as voice capability and data transfer in various areas including
telehealth and remote distance learning.
Hibbard told
Samoa News that undersea fiber optic cables are a vital development
tool for island countries but often the cost of laying an entire
new system is beyond their means. After successful redeployment
of an existing cable system in 2006 for Papua New Guinea, his
company has used this as a model for other small island countries.
"Papua New
Guinea is seeing great benefits through the cable on telehealth
issues and America Samoa can receive the same benefits,"
he said.
Hibbard explained
that although New Zealand's needs have outgrown this cable and
they are replacing it with a larger system, the capacity of the
Pacific Rim East cable should be more than adequate to meet American
Samoa's requirements for some time to come.
The first technical
presentation of the fiber optic cable project hosted by the Office
of the Governor was held at Sadie's in Malaloa yesterday to bring
lawmakers up-to-date on the project.
"This project
is a major priority of this administration. In an effort to make
sure that the people's representatives are apprised of this project,
I have made our technical experts available to answer any and
all questions that the Legislature may have," Togiola told
the assembled group.
With several
lawmakers in attendance, the technical team presented the main
tasks involved with the venture. The technical presentation covered
areas including the actual tasks involved in redeploying the
Pac Rim East Cable to land in Pago Pago, the route the cable
will take to reach the Territory's shores, and the many benefits
that American Samoa may expect to see as a result of the cable
project.
"The possibilities
alone for distance health, learning and business applications
alone are impressive," said Governor Togiola. "You
add to that the increased capacity for establishing and growing
technology based businesses and government, and the possibilities
are limitless."
Following the
presentation, the technical team spent time in a question and
answer session with lawmakers which turned into a facilitated
discussion where Fono members were able to express their concerns
over the project, voice their support and explore specific initiatives
where their lawmaking powers may be useful to the project.
"I am very
happy that the Fono members were available to review and discuss
their issues and questions with our technical team," said
Governor Togiola. "This project has been in the works for
a little over two years now, and now that the documents are signed,
and the goal of bringing fiber optic to the Territory is within
view, I believe that we are on the cusp of a technology explosion
in our islands because we have worked so hard on this project
with our partners. And having the support of the Fono and the
community in general is the key to carrying out the rest of this
very important project."
Funding sources
for ASG's $9 million financial obligation to the project include
$3 million from the $20 million loan from the ASG Retirement
Fund and another $3 million from the Interior Department's FY
2008 capital improvements budget for ASG. The government may
return to the Fono to get the last $3 million needed, according
to testimony during House hearings earlier this year.
The parties in
the PacRim cable project are ASG, Telecom New Zealand (TNZ),
Merchant Capital, an investment and merchant banking company
based in Alabama, and Elandia Incorporated, parent company of
Blue Sky Communications.
Yesterday, Gov.
Togiola called the submarine fiber optic cable project the most
significant economic development project for American Samoa in
the last several decades. "With this new initiative, we
will move from a labor intensive manufacturing industry into
a technology driven industry," he said.
Reach the
reporter at fili@samoanews.com.
© Osini Faleatasi Inc. dba Samoa News reserves
all rights.
|