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Tokelau selects Kacific
to deliver high-speed
broadband
5
December 2014
Teletok, the local
telecommunications
company of Tokelau and
sole service provider,
has selected Kacific to
deliver its new
generation of high-speed
broadband across its
territory and
surrounding waters.
Tokelau, composed of
three small atolls
situated north of Samoa,
is a Polynesian
territory of New Zealand
with a population of
just 1,400. There is no
airport in Tokelau, and
a chartered vessel MV
PB Matua, operated
under an arrangement
between New Zealand and
Tokelau, is the only
means of transport to
and from the islands at
present: the trip from
Apia in Samoa takes over
a day. Despite its small
size and remoteness,
Tokelau is committed to
thriving in a digital
world. Although
connectivity is
expensive, the country
has seen a pattern of
moderate internet usage
in recent years and a
rate of internet
penetration comparable
to other, more populous
Pacific countries.
Fast,
low cost broadband from
Kacific will
dramatically change the
communication landscape
of this territory. It
will enable affordable,
direct-to-premises
access to e-Government
applications. It will
provide better access to
online resources for
knowledge management and
connectivity of assets
including energy
generation systems and
transportation. In
particular it will
provide high-speed
broadband to passengers
on-board the passenger
vessels while en-route
to and from Tokelau. The
advent of affordable,
resilient, high-rate
connectivity will also
improve the health,
education and social
wellbeing of Tokelauan
communities. It will
help improve monitoring
of communicable
diseases, enable remote
diagnostics, and support
training and e-health
campaigns. Primary and
secondary students and
their teachers will be
able to access distance
learning and curriculum
resources from New
Zealand. Tokelauans will
be able to communicate
better with family
members who have gone
overseas to live. And,
for the first time, all
Tokelauans will be able
to access television
services.
“When
we designed our service
we had in mind the need
for it to be easily
adapted to meet the
needs of small,
isolated, sparsely
populated countries like
Tokelau,” says Kacific
CEO, Christian Patouraux.
“Tokelau is a text-book
case for Kacific: the
agreement with Teletok
validates our approach,
so we’re delighted.”
“The
provision of affordable,
accessible low-cost,
high-speed broadband
will enable Tokelau to
make significant and
rapid progress in key
policy areas including
good governance and the
development of our
people, infrastructure
and economy,” says
Tealofi Enosa,
CEO of Teletok. “By
supporting these four
priority development
goals
of the Tokelau National
Strategic Plan, it will
fundamentally change
every aspect of life in
Tokelau.”
Kacific will deploy a
single high power beam
from its Ka-band High
Throughput Satellite
(HTS) to cover the three
atolls.
And
will provide sufficient
capacity to ensure a
reliable and affordable
service with ample room
to grow and expand.
Tokelauans on all three
atolls will receive
equally outstanding
service quality and will
be able to enjoy high
throughput speeds using
only small (75cm to 1.2m
diameter) inexpensive
terminals.
Kacific expects to
launch its Kacific-1
satellite by early 2017
and to provide
operational service
shortly thereafter.
This
agreement is the sixth
that Kacific has signed
since it announced its
intention to provide a
satellite-based
broadband service, in
December 2013.
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