Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 4, 1 April 2010 — Cable links Tahiti, Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Cable links Tahiti, Hawaiʻi

The first Polynesian submarine cable linking French Polynesia and the United States has been established between Hawai'i County and the islands of Bora Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, Moorea and Tahiti. The finalizing of the 3,107 mile-long

cable, known as Honotua, was celebrated March 1 with a cultural ceremony at Pu'ukoholā Heiau Nahonal historic park, attended by Hawai'i County Mayor Billy Kenoi and dignitaries from Tahiti. "The first ancestors of the Hawaiian people arrived from the South Pacific, more specifically from Tahiti. It is an honor for our island to weleome this cable, Honotua, a physical link with our cousins," Kenoi said in a news release. A buoy named Kealaikahiki, Hawaiian for the "way to Tahiti," was presented to Kenoi symbolizing the end of the cable project. The cable is expected to promote eeonomie exchange with highspeed Internet connectivity between French Polynesia and Hawai'i, the continental U.S. and the world. The project began five years ago with the intent of improving eommunication throughout the islands of French Polynesia, by allowing more affordable intemational broadband Internet connectivity.

Hawai'i County Mayor Billy Kenoi called the Honotua Cable a "physical link" with Native Hawaiians' ancestors from the South Pacific." - Photo: Courtesy ofPacific fletwork.tv