Avaroa Cable Limited (ACL) provides wholesale international and domestic inter-island connectivity in the Cook Islands on an open-access and non-discriminatory basis. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer Mike Schwarz.
ACL is a licensed operator under the Cook Islands Telecommunications Act 2019 and is regulated under the Competition and Regulatory Act 2019. The company is wholly owned by the Government of the Cook Islands and is overseen by an independent board appointed by the Cook Islands Investment Corporation.
The Cook Islands is an independent democracy comprising of 15 islands in the south Pacific of c.17,500 people operating in free association with New Zealand.
ACL offers service in Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
The 3600km Manatua One Polynesia Cable connects Apia in Samoa, Niue, Rarotonga and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and Tahiti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
The cable is capable of operating at up to 10 terabits per second (= 10,000,000 megabits per second) using state-of-the-art fibre optic technology, enough speed to download 300 high definition movies every single second.
Back row, left to right: Raymond Hughes (SSCC), Richard Williams (ACL), Ranulf Scarbrough (ACL), Christian Fruean (SSCC), Neil Bloxsom (TNL), Rodney Chui (OPT). Front row, left to right: Edwin Utanga (ACL), Helelany Ly (OPT), Emmanuel Delanoue (SSCC), Vairani Davio (OPT), Loic Le Fur (Axiom)
ACL has been supported with NZ$15m of grant funding from the New Zealand Aid Programme, a US$15m loan from the Asian Development Bank and funding from the Government of the Cook Islands.
Picture. Left to right: Dr Ranulf Scarbrough, Founding CEO, Avaroa Cable Ltd; Tatiana Burn, Chair of the Board, Avaroa Cable Ltd; Honorable Mark Brown Prime Minster of the Cook Islands; Kaena Taramana Tipokoroa Utia, Mataiapo Tutara of Aro’a Puaikura; Sarah Short, Deputy High Commissioner, New Zealand High Commission to the Cook Islands; Ngamata Patricia Tuara, Coordination and Administration Officer – Cook Islands, Asian Development Bank
ACL is overseen by an independent board appointed by the Cook Islands Investment Corporation on behalf of the Government of the Cook Islands:
Tatiana Burn (Chair)
Martha Henry
Miimetua Nimerota
Richard Williams
Robert Matheson
Teu Teulilo
Avaroa Cable is a licensed network operator under the Competition and Regulatory Authority Act 2019 and the Telecommunications Act 2019.
A copy of ACL’s licence is available for download ACL Licence