21 July 2022
Avaroa Cables Ltd officially opens two cable landing stations
ACL celebrates the official opening of its cable landing stations in Aitutaki and Rarotonga, thanking landowners and the donor funding partners.
Newsroom
Te au tuatua ou
The Manatua story as it happened — from the first survey vessel in Cook Islands waters in May 2019, through the cable landings and go-live, to the opening of the western route to Sydney.
Latest News
23 November 2022
Vodafone Cook Islands has switched its internet services for the Cook Islands from Tahiti over to the new western route of the Manatua‑One Polynesia cable system to Sydney. The switch further secures trans‑Pacific connectivity into the future, delivers fast, reliable broadband to local operators, and marks a key step in the development of the Cook Islands’ digital economy — with new e‑services in critical sectors such as health and education now anticipated.
Read the release2022 · Operations and transition
21 July 2022
ACL celebrates the official opening of its cable landing stations in Aitutaki and Rarotonga, thanking landowners and the donor funding partners.
4 May 2022
Mike Schwarz takes the helm of the Cook Islands submarine cable operator, succeeding founding CEO Dr Ranulf Scarbrough.
2020 · The cable goes live
5 October 2020
The Pacific’s newest international operator is shortlisted alongside Verizon, China Mobile, NTT and Deutsche Telekom.
22 September 2020
ACL partners with French Polynesia’s OPT Group, giving the Cook Islands its first international fibre connectivity through to Los Angeles.
22 September 2020
A joint statement by the leaders of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands as the transnational partnership comes to fruition.
29 August 2020
Aitutaki, population 1,700, becomes one of the smallest fibre-connected islands in the world.
28 July 2020
The Manatua consortium confirms the 3,600km cable is Ready for Service — delivered on time and within budget despite the pandemic.
6 May 2020
Engineers from both companies test network interconnections and cable interfaces ahead of go-live.
9 February 2020
More than 50 days at sea, defying two cyclones, to place 3,600km of cable on the seabed of the South Pacific.
8 January 2020
The cable comes ashore at Rutaki village after Tropical Cyclone Sarai forced the first attempt to be aborted.
2019 · Survey, manufacture and landing
17 December 2019
The Manatua cable comes ashore in Aitutaki — the first-ever submarine cable in the Cook Islands.
25 November 2019
Work begins at Aro’a on the facility that will be the island’s gateway to the rest of the world.
24 November 2019
The first of six cable landings is completed, with Aitutaki and Rarotonga to follow before Christmas.
5 November 2019
Regional telecommunications leaders meet in Apia to approve the final stages of installation planning.
3 October 2019
Cable manufacture completes and the freighter Thorco Liva departs New Hampshire on a 15,000km delivery to the South Pacific.
6 August 2019
The advanced fibre optic cable, its six branches and 32 repeaters pass the halfway point in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
2 July 2019
A NZ$1.2m supply contract for two state-of-the-art cable landing stations, to be in place by Christmas.
19 June 2019
Over 120 Cook Islanders question ACL’s leaders and scientific advisers at public meetings on Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
26 May 2019
An engineering green light for the cable lay, with data gathered to ensure near-zero environmental impact.
4 May 2019
Survey vessel Geo Resolution begins the detailed marine study of the 3,500km cable route.