ICL doubles Vodafone’s bandwidth, pays Gov’t dividend
February 25, 2026 10:13 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
Subsea cable owner Interchange Limited (ICL) has doubled the international bandwidth capacity of Vodafone Vanuatu, a move expected to significantly improve mobile service quality for its customers.
Under the deal, Vodafone’s new doubled capacity gives the company plenty of bandwidth to serve its growing customer base and drive value into 2026. The agreement comes as Interchange continues to expand its international bandwidth supply to Vanuatu, lifting total capacity by 40% in 2025. ICL plans to further increase capacity throughout 2026.
The expansion follows a major upgrade in August to Vanuatu’s only subsea cable, carried out by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). ASN originally built the cable in 2014, an investment widely credited with transforming internet connectivity in Vanuatu. The recent upgrade boosted the cable’s capacity by 1,000 per cent, from 30 GB to 300 GB, ensuring sufficient capacity to meet growing demand in the coming years.
The upgraded system uses SMAT3 technology, a state-of-the-art Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) innovation developed by ASN and deployed for the first time in the world in Vanuatu.
Vodafone Vanuatu Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thomas Bruce said the increased capacity would ensure the company remains well positioned to support Vanuatu’s growing digital needs and deliver faster, more reliable connectivity to customers nationwide.
“This increased capacity ensures Vodafone Vanuatu remains well positioned to support the country’s growing digital needs,” Mr. Bruce said.
“As data consumption continues to rise across homes, businesses, and communities, this investment allows us to deliver faster speeds, improved reliability, and greater resilience for our customers across Vanuatu. Our focus is not only on meeting demand today, but on building a strong digital foundation that supports economic growth, education, healthcare, and connectivity across the islands.”
Interchange General Manager (GM) Niall Downey said the cable upgrade had positioned the sector for long-term growth.
“With the recent upgrade to Interchange’s cable, we have future-proofed the business and are ready to provide for the increasing data appetite of the people of Vanuatu,” Mr. Downey said. “This investment by Vodafone shows their determination to continually build on and improve services for their customers, and Interchange hopes others will follow.”
Interchange has also made improvements to its cable landing station in Mele to help protect essential infrastructure against cyclones and avoid outages, including installing power back-ups and new cyclone shutters. The station is manned 24/7 to ensure that appropriate actions can be taken in case of emergencies.
The week before last, Prime Minister Jotham Napat accepted a dividend payment of VT44.25 million on behalf of the Vanuatu Government, the majority shareholder. The next dividend will be declared in June 2026.
