FEATURE
2022: REALISING THE PACIFIC BY JOHN HIBBARD AND PAUL MCCANN
L
ooking back over the year of 2022, for those of us lucky enough to be part of the Pacific Region Submarine Cable Industry it has been another amazing journey! 2022 has been a year of growth, a year of surprises and a year for consolidation and achievement! We think you will all agree - the Pacific Region is stunning – it is an area of magnificent beauty and great opportunity, but it is also a region that presents significant challenges to those who live and work in the region. That said – for most part, 2022 has been a year of “realisation” – realising many dreams for new systems, realising it is not always easy despite the beauty that surrounds us, and realising the vulnerability we all face in life and living! 2022
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SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE
has been a year of ups and downs, cooperation and care. So, let’s look back over the last year and see what sort of things that attracted our attention – let us “Realise the Pacific”.
“EMERGENCY IN TONGA”
Of all the events that captured our attention during 2022, it is probably the eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai and subsequent tsunami that spurred most interest and captured our attention and interest! And influenced much of the ideas, thinking and plans that have emerged over 2022. The eruption which occurred on 15 January 2022, signalled many interesting aspects that our industry needed to consider more carefully. The eruption severed Tonga’s life-