Page 15 - IB July 2020

ICT ICT

2019 financial year saw ATH’s group revenue grow by 14% (to or Huawei about the sale of Solomon Telekom following the
F$524 million) over the 2018 results, with approximately 22% signing of a Telecommunications MOU between the govern-
of this revenue coming from non-Fiji operations. ATH antici- ments.
pates this will grow to more than 50% in coming years, par- Many Pacific Island nations have signed up to China’s Belt
ticularly given the potential that acquiring Digitec presents to and Road initiative and some have forged close relationships
deploy a telecommunications network in Papua New Guinea. with China. Now western partners fear that the ‘digital Silk
Pre-COVID, Vodafone Fiji (which ATH has a 51% stake in) had Road’ and China’s aspirations to become a ‘cyber superpower’
started a F$160 million capital expenditure program to ensure will not only compromise national security in the Pacific,
that its network capacity and coverage is able to satisfy vastly but also individual privacy and prevent interoperability and
increasing broadband consumption. Data and Internet revenue integration.
is the main contributing income stream for the group and
in ATH’s most recent annual report, CEO Ivan Fong says the ICT in action
company is looking at how it can leverage synergies across the Engagement with China is happening in other spheres.
businesses to improve pricing through pool purchasing, and In mid-March, more than 100 Pacific Island health officials
rationalising and aligning IT and support systems. and medical experts participated in a digital discussion with
Chinese counterparts to discuss pathology, transmission,
Geopolitics prevention and control as well as clinical treatment for
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Australia and COVID-19, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Geng
New Zealand have been the big investors in submarine fibre- Shuang said. Tele-health is an area of immense potential for
optic cables in the Pacific. However several nations have Pacific countries, where there are still far too few medical
expressed concern over the potential of Chinese financial and personnel to service widespread populations. The Internet
technical involvement. The US has deemed Chinese companies is also being harnessed in the Pacific’s fledgling COVID-19
Huawei and telco ZTE as ‘security threats’ and banned fed- contact tracing apps, such as careFIJI, which is already in use,
eral agencies and their contractors and suppliers from using and CookSafe, which is undergoing trials.
equipment and services supplied by them. Australia stopped At the end of 2018, mobile internet penetration in the
Huawei from implementing its National Broadband Network Pacific Islands was the lowest of any region in the world, at
(NBN) back in 2012, and more recently said Huawei gear just 18% of the population. Now the World Bank projects
cannot be used in its planned 5G mobile network, prompting that improved internet connectivity is expected to generate
Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye to declare more than US$5 billion in GDP growth and 300,000 jobs in the
the ban “discriminatory and politically motivated.” As we Pacific region by 2040.
were going to the print, the UK made a similar announcement Improved connectivity, by cable or satellite, forms the
excluding China from its 5G roll-out, after flip-flopping on the cornerstone of many Pacific island nation development plans.
issue. India has recently banned Chinese-owned and run apps Governments aspire to move services online to reduce double
like TikTok, and America’s secretary of state said earlier this handling, reduce leakage, and improve efficiency.
month that the US government is considering a similar ban The Federated States of Micronesia is reportedly the least
of TikTok, which is beloved of dancing Pacific Island teenag- connected country in the Pacific with only 21 per 100 citizens
ers who’ve brought their unique comedic sensibilities to the subscribing to a mobile telephone service, and 52% of the
platform. population unconnected to digital communication technology.
Huawei provides infrastructure (such as cables) and hard- FSM President David W. Panuelo says improved access would
ware. Last year it shipped an estimated 270 million handsets. lead to the democratisation of knowledge and promotion of
It does not have a big profile in the Pacific, although Australia national unity, through the broadcast of news and government
did fund and finish laying of the Coral Sea Cable in Solomon addresses. An enthusiastic user of digital media before his
Islands and Papua New Guinea, a project which Huawei had election, Panuelo regularly posts updates on government ac-
expressed interest in delivering to Australia’s consternation. tivities from his official account. Other Pacific leaders to har-
In December 2019, PNG media reported that bmobile and ness the power of their social media channels include Prime
Huawei PNG had signed a plan to roll out a 5G trial in PNG’S Minister PNG James Marape who recently wrote he uses social
capital, Port Moresby this year. However the status of this media because “my words are read raw as I write, sending
plan is unclear, as some political figures appeared to balk over messages from the people’s office”. Samoa’s Prime Minister
perceived 5G safety concerns. Australian media also specu- Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi frequently
lated this year that China Mobile was looking into bidding addresses Facebook followers from behind his desk, and Fiji’s
for Digicel’s assets in Papua New Guinea. However Digicel Voreqe Bainimarama’s more generic posts from official en-
Regional CEO, Pacific Markets, Shally Jannif rejected this, say- gagements are punctuated with insights into his family life.
ing: “We can categorically state that there is no basis to this In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNDP with
whatsoever and that no approach has been made to us.” Japanese government assistance, bought online meeting
In neighbouring Solomon Islands last year, opposition leader platform licenses for Samoan government ministries, and
Matthew Wale suggested the Government was talking to China most government ministries in Niue and Tokelau so they could

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