Synopsis
Nauru’s finances, government services and economy are in chaos as the consequence of a succession of inept and corrupt governments that have cost the once wealthy phosphate mining state almost its entire investment wealth. The government is the regulator and was the provider of all telecom services in Nauru. However the broader state of telecommunications in Nauru resembles the country’s own economic chaos. In 2003 the telephone system collapsed due to equipment failure leaving the island cut off from the rest of the world. By late 2003, Nauru could not afford to have its telecommunications repaired and in 2004 satellite communications were to be shut down for non-payment of subscription fees. In mid-2009 Digicel Nauru was awarded a licence to provide mobile services based on the GSM standard, we provide an overview of this operator in this report which commenced operations in August 2009.
In 2010 Nauru’s economy remains in crisis, relying on funding from governments and development organisations. It should be noted that up-to-date statistics on telecom services in Nauru are seldom publically available and this report is updated infrequently due to limited availability of information on the local telecoms market.