Cooks in a stew: adding fibre to dishes a recipe for success?

The Cook Islands must decide by the end of this year whether to connect to a newly announced submarine cable being planned by New Zealand-based Hawaiki Cable, or to stick to its satellite-based broadband connectivity plans, reports Cook Island News. Hawaiki aims to link the US to Auckland and Sydney via numerous Pacific islands in a project envisaged to be completed in late 2014, having gone public with its proposal due to the recent collapse of rival venture Pacific Cable, but its schedule is contingent on participant nations confirming their commitment by the end of 2012. Hawaiki claims to be offering a cheaper and more reliable option than broadband satellite service O3b, which Telecom Cook Islands is proposing to connect to early next year.