South Pacific Islands - Regional Market Overview & Statistics

Synopsis

Penetration rates of telecom services in the South Pacific Island region are still comparatively low, with large differences between urban and rural areas where coverage is usually poor. Access to basic telecom services remains relatively expensive. Less than half of all Pacific Islanders had a phone and generally only had one supplier for any particular fixed, mobile or Internet service. A. lack of reliable fixed infrastructure combined with cheaper installation costs has enabled mobile services to make significant inroads into the market. Mobile telephony is expected to continue outpace growth in fixed-line connections as the market moves into 2009. New technologies are gaining ground in some island countries. Several of the South Pacific nations are upgrading satellite links to outer islands, installing wireless broadband and upgrading fixed-line broadband capability and some are rolling out high-speed ADSL2+ broadband.