Low penetration of internet in South Pacific Islands attributed to economic and geographical barriers.

The Pacific Islands telecom sector has become increasingly dynamic in the past year, with the launch of a GSM service in Papua New Guinea, wireless broadband in Niue and Tonga, ADSL in French Polynesia, Internet-based SMS in New Caledonia and ambitious plans from Cable & Wireless to construct a fibre system connecting virtually all Pacific nations. With the exception of emerging arrangements in mobile markets, telecommunications services are still provided under state monopoly.

Research and Markets announces the addition of the 2004 South Pacific Islands Telecoms report to its offerings.

The Pacific Islands telecom sector has become increasingly dynamic in the past year, with the launch of a GSM service in Papua New Guinea, wireless broadband in Niue and Tonga, ADSL in French Polynesia, Internet-based SMS in New Caledonia and ambitious plans from Cable & Wireless to construct a fibre system connecting virtually all Pacific nations. With the exception of emerging arrangements in mobile markets, telecommunications services are still provided under state monopoly. Teledensities are comparatively low, with large differences between urban and rural areas where coverage is usually poor. Fax, paging, cellular and Internet services have been introduced in many of the major urban centres. The privatisation of telecom services is in its infancy and is being realised mainly through gradual partial private sector involvement with government control being maintained in the provision of basic services while newer services such as cellular and Internet are being privatised. Partial privatisation exists in various degrees in different segments of the industry in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Although e-mail has been available since the early 1990s, true Internet access only became available relatively recently, beginning first in 1995 in Fiji and most recently in 2002 in Tokelau. However, the Internet has been generally slow to penetrate the region. This is mainly due to the size of the economies, the wide areas to be covered, and also because there are many barriers when introducing a new technology. The lack of access to telephone systems, and the limited bandwidth available is a major constraint to the developing use of the Internet. This issue has been recognised by all the heads of South Pacific governments which are now starting to address it.

The Pacific Islands has long enjoyed a reputation as a cutting edge test-bed for broadband. For example, Globecomm Systems has installed a unique hybrid network employing GSM, Very Small Aperture terminal (VSAT) and IP platforms in Tonga that delivers a range of voice, video and data services across the nation. In mid-2003, Niue became the first country in the world to offer nationwide free Wi-Fi access for all local residents, tourists, government offices and business travellers. At the same time, the Fiji Electricity Authority and the Cook Islands Government began technical investigations to assess the viability of Powerline Communications (PLC) technology. In French Polynesia, the Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT) launched high-speed ADSL services in April 2003.

The use of mobile phones in the regions cities is becoming increasingly popular. GSM networks have been growing in the region, with nine islands groups connected with GSM-900/1900 networks by mid-2003. Furthermore, a number of countries have commenced upgrading from analogue to digital networks, including Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, and Cook Islands. Most other areas have either AMPS analogue networks or CDMA technology. Only Pitcairn, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna Islands have no mobile networks.

This report provides an overview of the South Pacific telecommunications and information highways industry, providing statistical and market data, developments and trends on each of the South Pacific Island countries.A regulatory overview, market information on the voice, data (including Internet), mobile and broadcasting markets are provided as well as an overview of major telecommunications and service providers.

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/41586

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