Page 14 - IB April 2025

Cover Cover

ICT state of play

evident, particularly in post-disaster situations.
However the roll out is not without regulatory
complications. The Digital Economy report states that
domestic policies towards LEO satellite services need to be
balanced.

Generations of Mobile Network Technology
Across the Pacific, 4G coverage sits at 58%. While Samoa has
almost blanket 4G coverage and 4G coverage is over 90% in
Fiji, Tonga, and French Polynesia, it is less than a third in FSM
The newly released Pacific and Solomon Islands.
edition of the Digital Economy 5G is expected to be limited to urban centres. At the time
Report provides an update on internet of writing, only Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern
connectivity and costs in the region. Selected Marianas Islands had launched commercial 5G services. In Fiji,
statistics and notes from the report follow. Vodafone Fiji and Digicel Fiji have been conducting 5G trials.
Digital Economy Report
Pacific Edition 2024
The transition to 5G will require not only significant new
Submarine cables and upgraded physical infrastructure, but also accessibly-
Submarine cables are central to data transmission to, from, priced 5G compatible devices.
and between Pacific small island developing states (SIDS). By 2030, 5G connections in the Pacific Islands are expected
Supported by funding from the Governments

redundancy in the event of prolonged cable
Multiple connections increase international bandwidth and to reach 1.5 million, or 17% of total mobile connections.
of Australia and the United States, this
disruptions, which can occur because of
internet speed, and provide redundancy (or backup) in the initiative will also extend the cable network
natural disasters or other accidents. So far,
seven out of the 20 Pacific SIDS still rely
to nine other Pacific SIDS: Kiribati, Marshall
event of prolonged cable disruptions such as natural disasters Subscriptions and affordability
Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,
on a single submarine cable connection.
or seafloor accidents. However, seven of the 20 Pacific SIDS Internet affordability and access to devices still need
Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Several major infrastructure projects are
still only have a single submarine connection. 2 improvement, with high internet costs creating a digital
Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
under way (see Table II.1). Notably, the
(Hunnicutt, 2023). Building on this, the
The South Pacific Connect Initiative led by Google Cloud and divide between low-income earners and the rest of the
South Pacific Connect initiative (led by
Central Pacific Connect will install two more
supported by the Australian and US governments will establish population. Only three countries have reached the Broadband
Google Cloud) will establish three trans-
cables, creating a ring between Fiji, French
Pacific subsea cables: Honomoana will
three transpacific subsea cables. If these cables and their Commission’s Advocacy Target of 2% of gross national income
Polynesia and Guam, further strengthening
connect the United States with French
the resilience of the Pacific network. These
planned extensions are all operational by 2026, all Pacific SIDS per capita.
Polynesia and Australia; Tabua will connect
initiatives build on the Southern Cross NEXT
will be connected by at least one submarine cable, including Some countries are considering tax incentives or device
the United States with Fiji and Australia;
cable that was completed in 2022, with
and the South Pacific Connect Interlink
Nauru, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu, for the first time. However, donation programmes to make more powerful devices
landing points in Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New
will connect Fiji and French Polynesia.
Zealand, Tokelau and the United States.
Cook Islands and Niue will still be reliant on a single cable. 3 available in the community.
Table II.1 Fixed line subscriptions are low except in Cook Islands,
Satellites Recently completed and planned undersea cable projects in the Pacific
French Polynesia, and New Caledonia, with most Pacific
Low Earth orbit region Island internet
satellite services users relying on
(LEO) via several Year for completion Cable name and length Details mobile broadband
providers are 2023 Natitua Sud (820km) Connecting Tubuai and Rurutu to Hitia’a (French Polynesia) subscriptions.
now available 2023 Tokelau Submarine Cable (250km) Connecting Atafu to Fakaofo (Tokelau) The high cost
in eight Pacific 2024 Timor-Leste South Submarine Cable (600km) Connecting Dili (Timor-Leste) to the North-West Cable System of broadband
in the Timor Sea
Island countries Connecting Bairiki (Kiribati), Yaren (Nauru) and Tofol (Federated continues to hamper
and are extending 2025 East Micronesia Cable System (2,250km) States of Micronesia) to the HANTRU1 Cable System origina- its uptake in the
ting in Alupang (Guam)
broadband to remote 2025 Echo (17,184km) Connecting Agat and Piti (Guam), Tanjung Pakis (Indonesia), Pacific. In 2023,
Ngeremlengui (Palau), Changi North (Singapore) and Eureka
locations, but high (United States) fixed line broadband
set-up cost and 2026 TAMTAM cable (375km) Connecting Wé (New Caledonia) to Port Vila (Vanuatu) costs almost 50%
varying regulatory 2026 South Pacific Connect Interlink (length to be Connecting Fiji to French Polynesia, ports TBD more in Pacific SIDS
approaches determined (TBD)) Connecting Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), French Polyne- as a group (or 6% of
are hindering 2026 Honomoana (length TBD) sia (TBD), New Zealand (Auckland) and the United States (TBD) the GNI per capita)
widespread 2026 Tabua (length TBD) Connecting Fiji (TBD), Australia (Sydney) and the United States compared to the
(TBD)
adoption. 2026 Bulikula (length TBD) Connecting Fiji (TBD), Tuvalu (Funafuti), Papua New Guinea average in all SIDS.
(TBD) and Guam (TBD)
The value of LEO Public private
services has been Source: UNCTAD, based on TeleGeography’s Submarine Cable Map, available at https://www.
submarinecablemap.com/.
14 Islands Business, April 2025
2 Table II.1 is the latest update of developments in the submarine cables infrastructure in the Pacific since 2022.
For a complete picture of the submarine connections in this region, please see UNCTAD (2023).
3 See https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/honomoana-and-tabua-subsea-cables-connect-
south-pacific. The 2022 report (UNCTAD, 2023a) highlighted the growing trend of major technology firms
such as Google (Alphabet), Facebook (Meta), Amazon and Microsoft investing significantly in developing their
own bandwidth capacity. While these investments have the potential to improve access, they also enable
these firms to reduce reliance on public carriers and exert greater control over the quality and pricing of
services.
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