With reliable digital connectivity vital to Tonga's economy, the AIFFP worked with partners to provide critical redundancy for Tonga's undersea cable network.

Expanding digital connectivity in Tonga via a second international undersea cable

Expanding digital connectivity in Tonga via a second international undersea cable

Vava’u, Tonga

Completed

Type:
Telecommunications Investment:
Grant AUD35.6 million Project name:
Tonga Hawaiki Submarine Cable Branch System

Delivery partners

Government of the Kingdom of Tonga
Government of New Zealand
Tonga Cable Limited

We partnered with the Governments of New Zealand and Tonga to build a new international undersea telecommunications cable to Tonga.

The project saw the construction of a 405-kilometre long cable, branching from the Hawaiki Cable to the existing cable landing station in Vava’u, Tonga.

405-kilometre

long cable

The second undersea cable will provide a more reliable service to the public and complement the Tonga Cable, connecting Fiji to Tongatapu, and the domestic cable connecting Tongatapu, to Ha’apai and Vava’u. It will also deliver flow-on benefits including natural disaster resilience, and support Tonga’s national digitalisation and economic goals.

The project marked an important step in supporting secure and resilient infrastructure as a key enabler of economic growth and driver of improved living standards for the people of Tonga.

The new international undersea telecommunications cable landed in Tonga in March 2026.

The new international undersea telecommunications cable landed in Tonga in March 2026.

Representatives from Tonga, Australia and New Zealand at the cable's completion event in May 2026.

Representatives from Tonga, Australia and New Zealand at the cable's completion event in May 2026.

AIFFP contribution

Grant AUD35.6 million

Impact

In the wake of the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano eruption, Tonga’s international and domestic cables were severed. The construction of a second International undersea cable reduces the chances of another telecommunications outage by providing critical network redundancy in the event of adverse weather events caused by climate change. The new cable will deliver more robust connectivity to communities, also assisting governments with disaster and climate change preparedness.

  

Factsheet - Expanding digital connectivity in Tonga via a second international undersea cable

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