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Radio Tuvalu
Mon, 24 Aug 2009
FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu ----- Tuvalu hopes to revive its mobile telephone service through an agreement signed with Sydney based telecommunications company, Pacific Teleport (Pactel).
Radio Tuvalu reports that Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation (TTC) will lease Pactel equipment and services for a year to revive mobile telephone services within the island of Funafuti.
Under the terms and conditions of the agreement, Pacific Teleport will meet the cost for shipping its equipment to Tuvalu, said TTC General Manager, Simeti Lopati.
“Pactel will also provide engineers for the installation of the equipment and a direct link for TTC to its base in Sydney Australia, Mr Lopati told Radio Tuvalu.
The existing mobile network in Tuvalu was damaged by a storm a few years ago leaving the island’s customers without mobile phone coverage.
Pactel will install a 2.5G mobile network system that will allow pre-paid customers to access normal mobile services at very competitive rates.
Andrew Taylor, CEO of Pactel International said “The technology allows a low cost network to be rolled out in markets such as Tuvalu where the total population is only 12,000. Current technologies do not make commercial sense in markets of this size, which gives Pactel the edge.”
Pactel International’s headquarters are in Sydney, Australia. Their regional office is in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Digicel has also shown interest in coming in to Tuvalu but nothing has been confirmed at this stage except for preliminary negotiations with the Government.
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