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Cooks Telecom’s new billing system
Telecom Cook Islands Ltd is installing a new billing system from New Zealand’s Argent Networks to replace its OTL Telstream solution, taken off the market by OTL Software Ltd early this year.
Telecom Cook Islands CEO Stuart Davies said the new billing system makes it possible for the company to be more flexible when drawing up tariffs so customers will expect to have new and innovative tariffs for all services.
Cook Islands Telecom is among the six other Pacific telecom companies that had been using OTL’s Telstream product but who had to look for another billing solution vendor when OTL notified them of its plans to cease the supply and support of its Telstream product.
PITA and ICANN sign agreement
A closer working relationship has been established between the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding early this year.
“This partnership is a great opportunity for active participation and collaboration of our members in the ICANN processes,” said Maui Sanford, president of PITA.
“The MoU gives all our stakeholders— telecommunication companies, vendors, ISPs and country-code top level domains—a chance to actively engage in the ICANN discussions as the Internet is part and parcel of the ICT industry.”
The objective of the MoU is to build a non-exclusive partnership that will see information on Internet issues flow in both directions, promote regional telecommunications and information technology standards and aid the transferring of skills, knowledge and capacity to the Pacific islands region.
Cable Agreement for Samoa, Tahiti, Wallis
Samoa’s long known intention to get itself a cable connection to the outside world is now a step closer to realisation after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between a number of Pacific Islands Countries including Samoa and Alcatel Lucent for the enabling of telecommunications among countries and the international market through undersea cables.
Samoa Observer reported the signing of an MoU in Noumea in April, confirming interest in connecting to a submarine cable communications system to join Samoa, American Samoa, Wallis and Futuna and Tahiti (French Polynesia) to Fiji. Of these countries, only Fiji has direct access to the undersea Southern Cross Cable Network, which has a cable landing at the FINTEL gateway in Vatuwaqa on Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island.
Meanwhile, SamoaTel’s project to improve its inter-island services was boosted last month with the Samoa Cabinet giving the green light to the Tender Board to contract Fujitsu Limited for the supply of compatible equipment and engineering expertise for SamoaTel’s Inter Island Diversity Link. Fujitsu was chosen ahead of two other international companies as it came with the lowest bid.
Vanuatu’s new telecom policy
The Vanuatu government announced it was preparing a new telecommunications policy and had called for submission locally as well as from the region.
“The telecommunications policy aims to create a favourable climate for stability, predictability and fair competition at all levels, in a manner that not only attracts more private investment for telecommunications infrastructure and service development in Vanuatu, but also enables universal service obligations to be met in areas of the country where traditional market conditions may fail to work,” the Vanuatu Government stated in a summary of its proposal that it wants to have effective competition in all areas of the market by 2011.
PacINET in Honiara
Pacific and international ICT specialists, including interest groups and individuals will gather in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara, in August, for PacINET, the annual workshop organised by the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society.
PICISOC chair Rajnesh Singh said the ICT industry in the Pacific was bracing to re-invent itself with new challenges ahead and therefore, capacity building in the region will play a key role in shaping the industry to respond to the region’s unique needs and keep it on par with the rest of the world.
The week-long event will feature a series of workshops and guest speakers from the region and international organisations, including Vinton Cerf, co-founder of the Internet and who has taken keen interest in the region ever since his first visit here three years ago.
Singh said such issues as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and the next generation of Internet, known as Internet Protocol Version 6, or IPv6, will actively come to the fore at PacINET.
Solomon Telekom profit
Solomon Telekom Company Ltd, trading as Our Telekom and exclusive provider of domestic and international telecommunication services in the Solomon Islands, announced last month an after-tax profit SB$33 million (US$4 million) profit for its 2006 financial year.
Earlier this year, the company took the government to court to defend its license, following the government’s announcement last year that it wants to open up the mobile telephony market to allow new players in. This would involve the revision of a 15-year old exclusive license held by Our Telekom granted in 2003.
The company’s major shareholder National Provident Fund (NPF) took the opportunity of the profit announcement occasion to remind the government and the people of the importance of Solomon Telekom as an investment for its members.
“Our Telekom is our company and the NPF members are very happy and proud of this investment. Our Telekom has worked very hard to build a fine company and competition should not be allowed to recklessly destroy the investment which is in the hands of Solomon Islanders,” NPF general manager Tony Makabo told a local radio station.
It is widely known that Jamaica-based Digicel wants to set up an operation in the Solomon Islands as well as in some other Pacific islands countries in order to establish a Pacific-wide presence, similar to what it has done in the Caribbean. This has prompted some governments to want to re-look at their existing regulatory structures.
Telecom Fiji VSAT switch
Four years after it launched the VSAT system it purchased from Nera ASA, Telecom Fiji Ltd (TFL) has switched to Gilat SkyEdge VSAT and in April announced the upgrade of its VSAT network. TFL’s VSAT customers had gone through four years of difficulties with connection as TFL experienced numerous technical problems with the network. It finally decided to write off some of its investment in the Nera product after expert advice.
“The choice of Nera at the time was based on their proposal of an open system where TFL would not be locked into a single vendor. As it turned out, the Nera network management system as for every VSAT manufacturer is propriety software and makes use of other vendor equipment very difficult,” said Salote Uluinaceva, TFL’s Manager Corporate Communications.
She added that Gilat’’s SkyEdge was chosen because of its reliability, low current drain and low cost.
TFL is now able to reduce the cost of service for VSAT customers. It plans to roll out new services via its VSAT network soon.
In February, it upgraded its old CDMA network to CDMA 2000, enabling it to provide its CDMA-connected customers with texting and Internet services.
– Compiled by Dionisia Tabureguci
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