1

Pacific CROP ICT Working Group’s

mandate on ICT, plans for the future,

update on the submarine cable

developments

__________________________________

First Session of the

ASIA-PACIFIC INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

Steering CommitteeDhaka, Bangladesh

2nd Nov 2017

Kisione W. Finau

2

Outlines

1. Updates from CROP ICT Working

Group

2. Updates -Telecommunications and ICT

in the Pacific Region

3. Case Studies – Fiji & Tonga

4. Observations

5. Ways Forward

Pacific Islands

4

CROP ICT Working Group

1. What is CROP ?

Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific

1. Pacific Forum Secretary

2. Secretarial of the Pacific Community (SPC)

3. Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency

4. South Pacific Tourism Organization

5. Secretarial of the Pacific Regional

Environment Programme (SPREP)

6. The University of the South Pacific (USP)

5

• CROP has a series of Sectoral Working Groups.

• These Working Groups are responsible for

collaboratively working on various regional

projects and policy initiatives.

• The primary objective of having Working Groups is

to enhance sectoral coordination and development

initiatives to strengthen integration, encourage

synergy, and collaboration for the purposes of

advancing sustainable development.

CROP ICT Working Group

6

• The ICT Working Group is Chaired by USP (Vice

Chancellor & President).

• The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders adopted five key

initiatives at their Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New

Guinea in September 2015.

• One of them was ICT, which they recognised as a game-

changing, transformative enabler of development and

regional co-operation and integration.

• The CROP ICT Working Group has overall mandate and

responsibility for ensuring that the vision of the Leaders is

effectively advocated, co-ordinated, and facilitated.

CROP ICT Working Group

The CROP ICT Working Group have two

categories (i) Members; and (ii) Observers

Members: USP (Chair); Representative of Member

Countries; PIFS; SPREP; SPC; PITA; FFA; PIDP; SPTO;

PPA; PASO; ADB; World Bank; Australia; New

Zealand; JICA; PIPSO; and Forum Troika and SIS.

Observers: Vodafone; Digicel; Territories of the

region; ITU; CSOs and others as considered

appropriate by the Working Group.

CROP ICT Working Group Memberships

Main Focus for 2017

• Work with donors and business Partners in

coordinating our efforts in developing ICT in the

Pacific region

• Implementing the Pacific Regional ICT Strategic

Action Plan (PRISA)

– Planning to have a meeting early 2018

– Taskforce

• Cyber Security

CROP ICT Working Group main focus 2017

• 10 years ago, No one thought that small countries such as

Tonga, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands would have submarine

cable.

• Currently there are thirteen Pacific Island Countries and

Territories (PICTs) connected to submarine cables and seven

have the new O3B cheaper satellite service.

• Samoa (TUI Samoa) will have it submarine cable ready in

early 2018

• Solomon Islands, Niue, Cooks, Kiribati submarine cable are in

the pipeline.

• Polynesian Submarine fiber – connection Samoa, Niue, Cook

Islands and Tahiti

Updates -Telecommunication & ICT in the Region

TUI-SAMOA CABLE

TUI-SAMOA CABLE

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Development in the Pacific

Other ICT Developments in the Pacific

• He wants Samoa to take advantage of the

opportunity to assist other Pacific Island

neighbors by becoming the first ICT Hub for

the Pacific Region.

• Tonga will have their Inter-island fiber

(Tongatapu – Haapai- Vavau) ready by 2018

Submarine Cables Map

• [Insert maps]

Development in the Pacific

Other ICT Development in the Pacific

• The University of Hawaii is leading an international initiative to

establish an Open Research & Education (R&E) exchange in

Guam.

• This includes both major international systems connecting

Southeast Asia, North Asia, Australia and North America as

well as the smaller regional systems connecting the Marshall

Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

• The open market in Guam makes it feasible to interconnect

these systems.

Observations

• Fibre optic submarine cable remains the

optimum medium for connectivity;

• Satellite will continue to play a major role in

connecting the Pacific Islands

• Broadband access to small island

developing states in the Pacific critical to ICT

development;

• ICT development and infrastructure directly

linked to economic development;

• An overarching issue for ICT in the region has been

affordability and accessibility

• Mobile is the main focus for local connectivity with good

progress being made on coverage, however, mobile data is

still seen as expensive and usually only available in the major

centres.

Updates - Telecommunication & ICT in the Region

• It is very critical for the PICTs to collaborate and work

together to address the needs of the people in the Pacific.

• As noted by the ICT Ministers in their 2015 meeting

“Lack of coordination and information around ICT initiatives within the Pacific

region by countries, donor agencies and international organisations that could

benefit from common approaches, standards, resources and infrastructures in

ICT that could provide the force multiplier effect through cooperative

development scaling and multi-purposing of technical resources. This includes

human resource development and harnessing of available expertise and

resources.”

Ways Forward

19

Malo