Pacific regional digital connectivity efforts

Regional efforts to improve digital connectivity in the Pacific are focusing on overcoming geographical barriers through diverse infrastructure solutions.

In Fiji, discussions at the Pacific Fibre Conference 2026 highlighted that while submarine fibre cables have enhanced regional connectivity, reaching remote islands remains difficult. Brian Moon, President and CEO of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, suggested low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations as a practical alternative to fibre in areas where deployment is not feasible. Fiji’s Minister for Communications, Ioane Naivalurua, pledged continued investment to ensure maritime and rural communities gain digital access.

In the Philippines, a consortium of telecommunications companies—Globe, Smart, and Converge—has proposed a P31-billion ($500 million) undersea cable loop to the Department of Information and Communications Technology. The project aims to eliminate internet dead zones across the archipelago by 2028. The proposed route would connect Batanes, Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao, linking to 14 existing international submarine cables. The companies noted that the infrastructure could also utilize distributed acoustic sensing to monitor maritime activity, earthquakes, and tsunamis.