The Interchange Cable Network is a series of subsea

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

cables owned by

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

-based company Interchange Limited. The first cable, ICN1 (Interchange Cable Network 1) links Fiji to Vanuatu and has been in service since 15 January 2014. The

cable landing point A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine telecommunications cables and submarine power cables. The landing will either be ...

s are: *Blacksands Beach,

Port Vila Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate. Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...

Efate Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanua ...

, Vanuatu *

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

, Fiji Alcatel Subsea Cable Vessel “Isle De Re” commenced cable laying on 10 November 2013 at the Fijian end of the cable. The cable arrived in Port Vila on 25 November 2013, 3 days ahead of schedule. This cable provides 20 Gbit/s, which is more than 200 times the previous capacity of Vanuatu's satellite system. Two more cables are planned that will provide back-up to the Interchange Cable Network in case of a disruption. ICN2 (Interchange Cable Network 2) will link Port Vila with Honiara, Solomon Islands, and ICN3 will link the Vanuatu island Tanna with Noumea, New Caledonia. A spur is planned to connect ICN2 with Vanuatu's largest island by land area, Espiritu Santo.

References

{{Submarine communications cables in the Pacific Ocean Communications in Vanuatu Submarine communications cables in the Pacific Ocean 2014 establishments in Vanuatu 2014 establishments in Fiji