Page 19 - IB October 2021

ICT
KACIFIC CATALYSES TUVALU’S

ICT AMBITIONS

By Dionisia Tabureguci
A five-year agreement signed last year between the Tuvalu
Government and satellite service provider Kacific Broadband
Satellites International Limited (Kacific) came at critical junc-
ture for the Polynesian nation, as borders closed in response
to the coronavirus pandemic.
With a population of 12,000 people spread out over 11
islands, Tuvalu has quickly gone from a country with typi-
cally very poor broadband Internet connectivity to one with
superhighway speed, at a time when it could have otherwise
been severely isolated.
And improved connectivity is powering its ambition to
become the world’s first paperless society, using blockchain
technology to create a digital ledger. Tuvalu aspires to store
all its data online using Bitcoin Satoshi Vision’s (BSV) public
ledger, and transition to a digital currency.
A statement released by Tuvalu’s government and tech
companies involved in the project, noted that while the coun- The satellite dishes are easy to transport and install.
try is “typically seen as “small,” “remote,” and “precariously
placed,” Tuvalu and its partners view the nation’s character- ence.
istics as an ICT strength that will allow it to maneuver more “The partnership began during the early stages of the
rapidly in terms of tech development.” COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Tuvalu took unprec-
Kacific, which co-owns the next generation geostation- edented precautionary protective measures – closing borders,
ary satellite Kacific 1, has now shown that island nations encouraging people to return from the capital island to their
like Tuvalu do not necessarily have to wait for the arrival of home islands, and closing the only two secondary schools in
submarine telecommunication cables in order to access faster the country.
and affordable Internet. “This should have been a time when we were cut off from
“Our work with Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation each other and the world. However, given the need to physi-
(TTC) is a model of how a State-Owned Enterprise can ef- cally distance ourselves, we had to find another way to con-
fectively meet a range of different connectivity needs within nect – we had to bring our hospital together with regional and
its country by developing tailored packages for stakehold- global hospitals and health organisations; we had to bring our
ers from a single substantial supply of internet bandwidth,” children together for learning even if they were no longer on
company founder and CEO Christian Patouraux told Islands school campuses; and we had to continue as a nation func-
Business. tioning in a global society,” Kofe told the conference.
“Kacific internet services are priced at around 50% less “Our partnership with Kacific and how it allowed us to
than the previous retail price of internet in Tuvalu, and at the almost immediately extend Internet coverage throughout our
same time are more reliable and deliver faster speeds than nation let us avoid some of the worst impacts of COVID-19.
previous suppliers. Many customers in Tuvalu are served on The pandemic has been an unforeseen tragedy for our world,
smaller satellite dishes (1.2m in diameter) which can achieve but it has also been the major impetus behind Tuvalu’s ac-
speeds of up to 85mbps. One site can connect up to 200 celerated adoption of digital services. Kacific infrastructure
users at any time. The rapid roll-out also proves that satel- established due to the pandemic has been foundational to the
lite is a much faster option than awaiting expensive ground Government of Tuvalu’s current moves towards digital trans-
infrastructure. TTC is targeting to increase internet penetra- formation,” Minister Kofe continued.
tion in the country from 49.3% to 75% with Kacific services,” “I believe that the increased accessibility to affordable
Patouraux added. high-speed internet will change the future learning outcomes
In fact, the Kacific deal could not have come at a better and job opportunities for Tuvalu’s youth. Tuvalu Telecom-
time. munications Corporation and Kacific have connected the
“Tuvalu signed its satellite internet agreement with Kacific nation’s eight primary schools, two secondary schools and one
during a time of great uncertainty for the nation, the Pacific specialised disability school with small VSAT satellite dishes
region and the global community as a whole,” said Tuvalu’s for online learning and teacher training,” he said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Telecommunications Simon
Kofe, in his address at a recent telecommunications e-confer- editor@islandsbusiness.com

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