Nukunonu, Tokelau

Nukunonu, Tokelau: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Nukunonu is the largest atoll in Tokelau, a New Zealand dependency situated in the south Pacific Ocean. Comprising 30 islets surrounding a central lagoon, it is home to an estimated population of 531 people, concentrated on the islet of Motuhaga. Despite its small land area of approximately 5.5 km², Nukunonu serves as a submarine cable landing point for two cables, making it the most connected of Tokelau's three cable landing points.

The two cables landing at Nukunonu connect the atoll to both the broader Pacific region and to the other atolls of Tokelau itself. One of these cables, Southern Cross NEXT, links Nukunonu to a wide intercontinental corridor spanning Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, and the United States. The second, the Tokelau Submarine Cable, is an intra-territorial system connecting the three atolls of Tokelau with one another. Together, these two systems give Nukunonu both international reach and a central role in domestic Tokelau connectivity.

Cables Landing at Nukunonu, Tokelau

Southern Cross NEXT is a 13,700 km cable with a ready-for-service date of 2022. It connects Nukunonu to landing points in Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, and the United States, placing Tokelau's largest atoll on one of the Pacific's major long-haul cable systems. This cable provides Nukunonu with direct connectivity into the trans-Pacific corridor linking Oceania with North America.

Tokelau Submarine Cable is a 250 km cable with a ready-for-service date of 2023. This system is entirely domestic to Tokelau, connecting the territory's atolls with one another. Its short length reflects the inter-island nature of the route, providing a dedicated submarine link among Tokelau's communities rather than reaching outside the territory.

Regional Context

Tokelau has three submarine cable landing points: Nukunonu, Atafu, and Fakaofo. Atafu and Fakaofo each host a single cable, while Nukunonu hosts two, making it the only landing point in Tokelau served by more than one system. This positions Nukunonu as the most connected node within Tokelau's cable infrastructure.

Network Role

Nukunonu functions as a multi-cable hub within an otherwise lightly connected territory. Its connection to Southern Cross NEXT extends Tokelau's reach across the Pacific to Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, and the United States, while the Tokelau Submarine Cable ties Nukunonu into the territory's internal network alongside Atafu and Fakaofo. The combination of one intercontinental-scale cable and one intra-territorial cable at a single landing point is uncommon for a community of Nukunonu's size.

Within the regional submarine cable graph, Nukunonu's dual-cable status means it anchors Tokelau's international connectivity while also serving as a hub for inter-atoll communication. The fact that Tokelau's first submarine cable arrived only in 2022 underscores how recently this atoll joined the global submarine network, with Nukunonu at the centre of that transition.