Solomons Government ‘committed’ to Huawei high-speed internet cable despite ‘concerns’

The Solomon Islands Government says it is committed to providing high speed internet submarine cable for the country, ahead of Prime Minister Sogavare’s trip to Australia next week.

The Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet said the Prime Minister was positive that matters would be resolved amicably with Australia despite ongoing concerns from some commentators.

The submarine cable project, which was set to be carried out by Chinese telco giant Huawei, hit a roadblock last month when the Australian Government  indicated it would block any planned cable from Sydney to Honiara over security concerns.

The project is supposed to be under construction but is currently on hold.

The Australian Government is yet to officially confirm the denial of any landing permit in Sydney and it is understood Mr Sogavare is set to bring up the matter in Canberra next week when he visits to sign a security document.

The submarine cable is one of the Democratic Coalition for Change Government’s key policy initiatives.

The National Government and its development partners said an undersea telecommunications cable would significantly impact economic development in the country.

The internet in Solomons is understood one of the slowest – if not the slowest – in the Pacific region and is currently beamed in via satellite because of the lack of submarine cable infrastructure.