Avaroa Cable Limited (ACL), Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), BW Digital, and Vodafone Cook Islands (Vodafone) are working together to improve connectivity for students in the Cook Islands’ 30 schools for the next three years (2023-2026).
The initiative is in collaboration with the Ministry of Education Cook Islands (MoE) and leverages existing Hawaiki (now owned by BW Digital) and Manatua submarine cables. Ciena’s support includes the installation of Ciena 5160 Service Aggregation Switches in the Cook Islands and Sydney to accelerate delivery of connectivity services. Ciena will also cover all costs for ongoing maintenance and support services for the duration of the project.
With some Cook Islands’ schools previously solely reliant upon satellite services for internet connectivity, significantly those in the Pa Enua (outer islands), they could not meet the service demands required for today’s learning needs. Connectivity was often slow or unreliable due to high usage, especially during school hours. This makes it difficult for students and teaching staff to access online resources and communication platforms that require high bandwidth capacity. The switch to submarine cable-based broadband connectivity for Rarotonga and Aitutaki from satellite services will enable a better and more stable user experience across all education premises, supporting the Cook Islands’ educational institutions as they embrace digital learning.
“Having improved and strengthened connectivity for our schools will revolutionize the teaching and learning experience for each of our education sectors. We are seeing more and more of our teaching and assessment opportunities being digitized or delivered online and having a dedicated and sustainable platform for our schools including our tertiary and vocational providers will mean we can confidently continue to deliver a quality education system. The MoE looks forward to working more closely with our ACL, BW Digital, Ciena and Vodafone Cook Island colleagues to ensure all considerations have been successfully applied to allow for a seamless transition when ready,” said Danielle Tungane Cochrane, Head of Ministry, Ministry of Education Cook Islands.