Challenge
The South Pacific island of Tonga required international network connectivity to provide fast and affordable communications to its people. High-speed internet services were expected to vastly improve the economic landscape of the island, expand the delivery of health and education services, and help businesses grow. Additionally, with the majority of Tonga citizens living off the island, high-speed internet connectivity would bring the citizens of the country together with their families living abroad.
Solution
The Tonga Cable Project was initiated in 2009 with approval from the Government of Tonga and supported by the World Bank. It was determined that building a connection to Fiji to interconnect with the existing Southern Cross cable was the best option to achieve regional and global connectivity from Tonga. Tonga Cable Limited (TCL) was formed to manage the subsea cable project and brought OSI in to consult and advise across multiple areas, from project planning to implementation and delivery.
OSI provided network design, engineering, project management, quality assurance, and oversight of planning, installation, and commissioning activities. OSI took a critical advisory role to support TCL through the procurement and negotiation process for the network and also supported the negotiations for a long-term cable maintenance contract.
