Digicel Pacific Upgrade of O3b Networks Capacity Marks a 3x Capacity Increase in Less Than 3 Years
Digicel Pacific, has signed an agreement to significantly upgrade its capacity in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with smaller capacity upgrades in both Nauru and Samoa. The expansion represents a greater than 300% increase in total contracted capacity for Digicel in markets across the Pacific. Digicel Pacific is the leading telecommunications operator in six Pacific countries and has been working with O3b since July 2013 in Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Nauru. This upgrade is a direct response to significant growth in internet usage throughout these countries due to Digicel’s upgraded and enhanced 3G/4G mobile network featuring the high-throughput, low latency O3b connection.
By upgrading with O3b, Digicel Pacific has been able to further take advantage of the O3b Networks Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite network to bring its customers new and more affordable data packages. Since the launch of these new packages on 5 April 2016, the company has already seen a significant increase in PNG customers logging on for data usage.
Growth in data usage across the Pacific means increasing opportunities for small business growth, tele-medicine, e-learning, tourism, e-government services, and consumer communications, and is strategically important to Digicel. In addition to the new data plan structure, the company plans to continue to drive data use by increasing smart phone penetration, creating local digital infrastructure, and creating local content and on-line communities.
“This is an exciting time for O3b, Digicel and its customers in the Pacific,” said Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks. “The need for this upgrade shows how hungry consumers are for affordable and quality connectivity. It is not only a sign of healthy economic growth for the region, but also offers promise to other remote locations for similar economic advancement.”
“Digicel is looking to promote data usage over the next two years, so offering aggressive data plans, and having a high-performance connection to deliver on those plans, is absolutely essential,” said Michael Murphy, CEO of Digicel Pacific. “Existing customers in PNG who have not been using data are finding the new O3b-enabled data packages affordable, and usage has already seen a big jump.”
