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Cook Islands Examines Merits Of South Pacific Information Superhighway,
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The Cook Islands government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with API, the New Caledonia based company representing the South Pacific Information
Network (SPIN), to conduct a country specific assessment of the proposed optical
fiber undersea cable.
The proposed project has two components, the first an east-bound route, known as SPIN-East,
going from New Caledonia to French Polynesia via Wallis & Futuna, which could
provide links to Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga Niue and the Cook Islands.
The other is the west-bound route (SPIN-West) from New Caledonia linking
Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, and would connect to the existing
Port Moresby - Cairns cable and the soon to be implemented Noumea - Sydney and
Tahiti - Honolulu cables for international access.
The objectives of SPIN-East are not only to connect the Pacific Islands but
also to contribute to ICT development in the region, secure New Caledonia and French
Polynesia traffic, build a new trans-Pacific route, and offer back-up capacities
to US and Australian operators.
The Cook Islands government hopes that involvement in a network such as SPIN
will enhance economic growth by providing employment opportunities with regard to remote
working, on-line catalogues, e-commerce and the establishment of new multimedia
and audiovisual industries, while also developing prospects for e-learning,
e-administration, tele-health and so forth.
Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Dr. Jimmie
Rogers, has told the Cook Islands cabinet that this project provided a chance
for the Cook Islands and the rest of the Pacific to tap into the development
opportunities that can be gained thorough ICT. He also concurred with the view
of Greg Urwin, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
(PIFS), that "the lack of telecommunications infrastructure in the region
is a serious impediment to development and improvement and quality of life of
Pacific Islanders".
The proposed SPIN project is aligned to the Pacific Digital Strategy and the
Pacific Plan endorsed by Pacific Leaders.
According to Liz Koteka of the Policy and Planning Division of the Office of the
Prime Minister, the recent signing does not commit the Cook Islands to the proposed
project but allows API to come in for further assessment, dialogue and
negotiations with Government and other agencies. She added that: “Government
will only commit to the project when all the required information and the possible
options have been analyzed and assessed to ensure that the decision that Government
will make would be to the benefit of the Cook Islands."
Consultations with API could start as early as this month, according to Rogers.
Countries which have agreed for consultations to proceed with API so far are: New Caledonia,
French Polynesia, Wallis & Futuna, American Samoa, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.
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