Tabua

Overview

Tabua is a trans-Pacific submarine cable system connecting Australia, Fiji, and the United States. The cable spans one of the most active intercontinental corridors in the Pacific, linking two Australian cities with two Fijian landings and two points on the US West Coast and Hawaii. Tabua is owned by Google and is scheduled to be ready for service in 2026.

Route and Landings

In Australia, Tabua lands at Maroochydore in Queensland and at Sydney in New South Wales, providing two distinct entry points along the country's eastern seaboard.

In Fiji, the cable comes ashore at Natadola and at Suva, giving the island nation dual landing locations.

In the United States, Tabua lands at Kapolei on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and at Los Angeles, California, extending connectivity to both the mid-Pacific and the continental US.

Ownership and Operators

Tabua is wholly owned by Google. Google has developed a substantial portfolio of privately owned and co-owned submarine cable infrastructure across multiple ocean basins as part of its global network strategy.

Status and Timeline

Tabua is planned for service with a ready-for-service date of 2026. The cable is not yet in operation.

Regional Context

The Australia–Fiji–United States corridor is served by several established systems. The Southern Cross Cable Network has connected Australia, Fiji, and the United States since 2000, and Bulikula is another cable linking Fiji and the United States also targeting a 2026 RFS date. Project Waterworth is a further Google-backed system planned for the Australia–United States corridor. Tabua distinguishes itself by providing Google with a dedicated path that simultaneously serves both Fiji and the two primary US gateway regions of Hawaii and Los Angeles, alongside dual Australian landings on the Queensland and New South Wales coasts.

Strategic Role

By landing at six points across three countries, Tabua gives Google direct, privately controlled capacity on the trans-Pacific route between Australia and the United States, with Fiji served as an intermediate destination. The dual landings in both Australia and the United States allow for geographic diversity within each country, while the two Fijian landings extend direct connectivity to a Pacific island nation that has historically depended on a limited number of cable systems. Together, these landings support traffic routing flexibility across a corridor that spans a significant portion of the Pacific Ocean.