Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report which finds that mobile telephony is expected to continue outpacing growth in fixed-line connections as the market moves into 2008.
It also finds that less than half of all Pacific Islanders have a phone.
“2008 South Pacific Islands-Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband” which is available at http://www.reportbuyer.com/
The report says access to basic telecom services in the islands remains relatively expensive and Internet cafes and tele-centres help to address the issue of low Internet penetration.
Authors of the report state that the islands comprise a total economic market of about US$20 billion. The Pacific Islands Trade Agreement governs the tiny proportion of trade that is conducted between the islands themselves in the region. The islands covered include: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa , Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
Analysts says Fiji, which is one of the most developed on the Pacific Islands, has recently seen beneficial regulatory changes. For instance, they say that in November 2007, after a lengthy process, the Fiji interim government passed a New Telecommunications Bill that fully deregulated Fiji's telecom sector. The New Bill effectively ends the exclusive privileges granted to Telecom Fiji, Fintel and Vodafone Fiji. Also, in the same period, Fiji's first licensed VoIP service provider, VoiceNetIP (Fiji) Ltd, planned to launch commercial operations after waiting three years for its VoIP licence.
The study finds that Pacific leaders are aiming for a 2008 implementation of a major new undersea cable network and satellite links servicing island nations throughout the region. This comes as a result of the 2007 Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, and officials have revealed that strong progress had been made to the digital connectivity plan.
The report states that mobile telephony is expected to continue outpacing growth in fixed-line connections as the market moves into 2008. New technologies are gaining
ground in some island countries.
Authors of the report find that several of the South Pacific nations are upgrading satellite links to outer islands, installing wireless broadband and upgrading fixed-line broadband capability. They say some are rolling out high-speed ADSL2+ broadband and that there is strong interest among South Pacific operators regarding WiMAX as a communications solution.
The study provides an overview of the telecommunications infrastructure, regulatory developments and broadband and mobile developments.
“2008 South Pacific Islands-Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband” is available from Report Buyer. For more information go to: http://www.reportbuyer.com/
Report Buyer product ID: BUD00222
