Page 28 - IB December 2021

KACIFIC: Listening, learning, evolving

Kacific Satellite Technologies listens to its customers. And when those
customers are based in some of the Pacific island region’s most remote areas,
Kacific’s efforts to improve connectivity and meet their communications needs
is saving Pacific lives.
For example, at Abwatuntora Mauna Health Centre—where there has been
no mobile network for over 40 years—a Kacific VSAT (Very Small Aperture
Terminal) installed in January enabled Nurse Nicholas Bage to videoconference
with a midwife at another clinic, to get guidance on how to safely deliver a
complicated birth. In Papua New Guinea, VSATs and solar equipment has been
installed at 30 rural health facilities, connecting community health workers GigWiFi
to on-call doctors. In western Santo island, Vanuatu, women are using VSAT Kacific’s GigWiFi is a marriage of its GigStarter broadband plans and WiFi.
to photograph their woven baskets, arrange payments and sell their products The entry-level terminal consists of a new, low-power, high-throughput
locally and to neighbouring countries. modem, paired with a transceiver, and the 1.2m VSAT antenna.
“The underlying principle of Kacific’s business is providing fast affordable Installation is a simple ‘point and play’ process and the set up supports
broadband to under-served areas,” said Christian Patouraux, Kacific’s Chief Internet/intranet access, VoIP and multi-casting services over Kacific’s Ka-
Executive Officer. band network. The modem is compact and light, easy to set up, is energy
Kacific’s high-throughput Ka-band satellite, Kacific1, is fostering greater efficient and suitable in all weather conditions.
internet usage, fueling economic growth and improvements in service delivery The product has been a long time in development and testing, says
across the Pacific islands and southeast Asia. Patouraux. “We did live testing for months, pushing this modem constantly to
Kacific services about 2500 government facilities, many of them schools its limits. And after this, we deployed the modem in small batches, in places like
and hospitals, in Indonesia, and more than 500 customers in the Philippines. the Philippines, some parts of Papua New Guinea as well. And we just listened
“We currently have 30 clinics in Papua New Guinea that we are connecting to feedback from customers.”
with [through PNG Sustainable Development Program]. We’ve connected too Patouraux envisages the market for the modem as being small businesses,
in Vanuatu, in Solomons and in Kiribati,” Patouraux says. schools, libraries, hotels, universities and health clinics.
“Tuvalu is a great example as well. We completely changed the face of the Entrepreneurial Pacific Islanders could also use GigWiFi in their
telecom industry. In Tuvalu, the price of broadband dropped by half, in a matter communities, by selling vouchers for internet access. “It’s really a hybrid
of a year, thanks to our service GigStarter plans.” system where the owner of a premise could actually make some money out of
selling the service,” Patouraux states.
GigStarter
GigStarter is a series of broadband plans sized for the number of CommsBox
individuals/devices accessing a particular network. Its success has been built As South Pacific nations enter cyclone season, Kacific has also launched
on its accessibility and affordability. an emergency product, the CommsBox. It is a self-contained unit which
Kacific recently introduced a new range of GigStarter plans, ranging from includes a self-installing satellite dish, solar-power energy pack, user tablets,
GigStarter Simple, with speeds of up to 6 MBPS suitable for small households preconfigured and connected modem, WiFi set up, all in a sealed, shock-
and couples with simple data usage needs, to GigStarter Ultimate, with speeds resident, fire-resistant, buoyant and transportable container.
of up to 40 MBPS which is suitable for small businesses, farms and households Kacific’s CommsBox is designed to quickly re-establish connectivity and
connecting up to four devices simultaneously. communications in emergencies and disaster situations. It’s a turnkey solution
In offering these services, Kacific has broken down the wall that typically that can be instantly activated, stored at remote sites or even airdropped into
exists between the vendors of broadband plans and the big infrastructure emergency zones. The satellite dish inside connects to Kacific 1.
(satellite operators). “If a hurricane or tropical cyclone is about to hit the region, we’ll deploy a
“The value chain in our industry was deeply disrupted for a few months at couple of these transports, put them in a vault somewhere, let the hurricane
the beginning of COVID,” Patouraux says. “We had a lot of hesitation in our come by and then take them out. Then you have immediately, a very high-
market. Yet we had a satellite in space. And we saw all these people at home, speed system that is fully autonomous. And so emergency responders can be
wanting internet, needing to connect their home, their office, their hospital, there and provide situational awareness almost immediately without knowing
their schools, etc. So, we said “Well, look, let’s close that gap.” anything about communications.”
Closing the gap involved working with retailers to provide equipment, CommsBox is specifically designed for civil defence, police and not-for-
pricing and marketing support in exchange for a share in revenue. profit organisations. Eight units have been sold to the Fiji government, and
And with the new terminal kit, which Kacific also recently introduced, Kacific Patouraux hopes more will follow.
has made entry cost for satellite broadband more affordable for underserved He looks forward to the day he can get back to the region to see first-hand,
markets. Its introduction will reduce installation time and bring down the cost the impact Kacific is having. “What’s very satisfying is that we are becoming
of the terminal kit by up to 50%, with entry prices starting from USD$530 for part of the daily lives, it’s starting to become business as usual. People are
all other markets. thinking, ‘Oh, I need connectivity’. So, it’s a great validation.”

GigStarter Simple GigStarter Everyday GigStarter Ultimate
Unlimited Plan Unlimited Plan Unlimited Plan

Speeds up to Speeds up to Speeds up to
6 MBPS 25 MBPS 40 MBPS
3 3 15 10 30 10
Now with more affordable
terminal prices. Starting from Mbps Mbps Mbps Mbps Mbps Mbps
USD560. Suitable for small businesses,
Suitable for small households
and/or couples with simple Suitable for small farms and households
data usage needs households connecting up to 4 devices
simultaneously
Web browsing, social media, Web browsing, social media,
Web browsing, email, voice
music and video streaming
calls daily. Limited SD video (up to 350Hrs in SD or 100Hrs music and video streaming (up
streaming. to 500Hrs in SD of 160Hrs HD
HD per month) per month)
To find out the monthly fee for our plans, contact your local Internet Service Provider at Subject to Fair Usage Policy
https://kacific.com/services/ internet-for-business/
28 Islands Business, December 2021