Telecom Fiji Wins Regional Award for Northern Fibre Project

Telecom Fiji (Fiji) Pte Limited has won the Infrastructure Initiative of the Year – Fiji category at the Asian Telecom Awards 2026, recognising the company’s major fibre network project connecting Savusavu to Labasa.

The award was presented for the Savusavu–Labasa Fibre Project, a 102-kilometre underground fibre network linking Savusavu, Seaqaqa and Labasa in Vanua Levu.

The project replaced weather-exposed microwave links that had long caused connectivity disruptions across the Northern Division.

The new fibre backbone provides a more reliable communications route for households, businesses, schools and government services in the region.

It is also considered a milestone for the country’s telecommunications infrastructure as it represents the first fibre backbone constructed outside Viti Levu.

Telecom Fiji said the network was built underground with protection and redundancy to reduce environmental risks and improve service stability.

The system initially operates at 10 gigabits per second, with upgrades already expanding capacity to 100 gigabits per second and a pathway to reach 400 gigabits per second in the future.

The company completed the project ahead of schedule and within its approved budget of FJ$10 million.

Following commissioning, network performance improved significantly across the Northern Division.

Bandwidth increased while service interruptions and latency declined. Data traffic also rose from 7 gigabits per second to 12.5 gigabits per second.

Within six months of the project going live, broadband subscriptions in the region doubled, while businesses increased fibre adoption by 88 percent. Connectivity among schools and statutory bodies also grew by 77 percent.

Telecom Fiji Chief Executive Charles Goundar acknowledged the award as a milestone for the company and the country’s digital infrastructure development, noting that the project has strengthened connectivity across Vanua Levu and improved access to digital services.

The Asian Telecom Awards recognises telecommunications companies across the Asia-Pacific region for achievements in innovation, infrastructure development and industry advancement.