Communication opportunities for Pacific Island Countries and Territories Digital Strategy Update PACRICS status (Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System) SPIN update (South Pacific Information Network) OLPC plan (One Laptop per Child) Phill Hardstaff – Acting IT Manager – Secretariat of the Pacific Community Noumea – New Caledonia

The Pacific Community

What is SPC ? Established in 1947, SPC is an advisory, training and research institution. A total of 370 staff – 220 in Noumea – 100 in Suva, Fiji - 50 in other countries. Land Resources (Agriculture and Forestry) Marine Resources (Coastal Fisheries - Maritime (Suva) - Oceanic Fisheries) Social Resources (Human Development - Public Health - Statistics and Demography - Regional Media Centre (Suva) A budget of CFP 5 billion (USD 60 million) in 2008

Pacific Plan – Digital Strategy Background 5 priorities in ICTs for the region to be addressed through the Pacific Plan Digital strategy. 1.improving access to communications technology particularly to and from rural and remote areas 2.Reducing costs of ICTs 3.establishing higher bandwidth to the global ICT backbone 4.removing inappropriate regulatory environments in order to foster higher levels of investment 5.Strengthen HR capacity to apply and use ICT Source – Summary outcome : Forum ICT Ministers Meeting, Wellington, March 06

The ICT Technologies Satellite – AMC 23, dedicated Pacific Hub : Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System (PACRICS). Now GE 23 satellite. Submarine cable – South Pacific Information Network (SPIN) One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

Pacific RICS Project objectives Connect rural and remote communities in Pacific Island countries and contribute to economic development. Establish 16 pilot sites across region. Demonstrate the utility and financial sustainability of the provision of low-cost, relatively high speed Internet access to rural and remote communities throughout the Pacific region.

Pilot Countries 1.Cook Islands 2.Kiribati (2) 3.FSM 4.French Polynesia 5.Marshall Islands 6.Nauru 7.Papua New Guinea (2) 8.Samoa 9.Solomon Islands (2) 10.Tokelau 11.Tuvalu 12.Tonga 13.Vanuatu Pacific SkyEdge Hub Initial Bandwidth guaranteed for 2 years With coverage over all Pacific Islands PACRICS – Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System Features and Sustainability RICS Hub can support up to 35,000 remote RICS sites 100 operational sites sustainable goal

PACRICS CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Costs – 16 pilot sites funded through PACRICS VSAT SkyEdge Pro, 4 LAN Ports, 1 phone port, 1.2 meter dish – USD $ 3,600 Solar Power Unit – 200w panel capacity 300 amp Hour battery capacity Solar systems (if required) can be bought from your local supplier Training for local installers – completed for pilot countries (Step-by-step procedures with pictures) Pilot Site Community – Foundation for 1.2 m satellite dish Service Level Agreements – SPC and Pactel responsible for all sites

PACRICS OPERATIONAL Costs OPEX for RICS SkyEdge VSAT Terminal Main OPEX factor = monthly fee for Satellite access & Data throughput (for always on ADSL comparable services) PROPOSED UNIVERSAL SERVICE COSTS: 128 kbits download/64 kbits upload - Approx USD 200/month 256 kbits download/128 kbits upload – Approx. USD 350/month 384 kbits download/128 kbits upload – Approx. USD 495/month 512 kbits download/256 kbits upload – Ap prox. USD620/month First 100 Sites – will be subsidized by Pacific RICS for 2 years

1 st Pilot Site Launch of Pacific RICS Saturday 3 rd May 2008 Gaire Community – Central province, PNG located an hour's drive southeast of Port Moresby and home to about 2500 people – VSAT, Network in a box [ISI box] – Provides opportunities for broad-band internet access to the community at fast & affordable rates – A hub for One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative Partnership between Government (Dept of Information Communication); Private sector (PNG Telikom); Gaire Community; ISI.NC; PIFS; SPC under the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy.

Impact of PACRICS: Multiplies connectivity Pilot Site at Patukae College; Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands, will provide access to 9 Schools ; I health clinic 16 villages; 1 resort; 6 small businesses.

Patukae College RICS Western province, Solomon Islands

Toa Marovo peak – proposed access point proposed for all Sites

Patukae College Pilot of OLPCs

Other Impacts of PACRICS Speeds up Policy & regulatory reforms For example, in Kiribati: New Regulation now allows granting of license to other ISPs PacTel (company contracted to manage PACRICS) granted a license to operate in Kiribati PACRICS now available at much lower price TAK helping schools to connect.

17SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © APNG-2 Southern Cross Cairns Port Moresby Honiara WALLIS SOLOMON ISLANDS PAPUA NEW GUINEA FIJI AUSTRALIA NIUE Pago Apia AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA COOK ISLANDS Rarotonga FRENCH POLYNESIA Papeete To Hawaii Sydney Auckland PIPE Madang Noumea Suva Telstra Existing cables and on-going projects in South Pacific region VANUATU Port Vila APNG2 PIPE NETWORKS AJC TELSTRA SOUTHERN CROSS PAC RIM EAST TONGA FUTUNA NEW CALEDONIA NORFOLK

18SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © APNG-2 Southern Cross Cairns Port Moresby Honiara WALLIS SOLOMON ISLANDS PAPUA NEW GUINEA NEW CALEDONIA FIJI AUSTRALIA NIUE Pago Apia AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA COOK ISLANDS Rarotonga FRENCH POLYNESIA Papeete To Hawaii Sydney Auckland PIPE Madang Noumea Suva Telstra Gondwana Nouméa - Sydney cable VANUATU Port Vila OPT NC cable called « Gondwana » km between Nouméa and Sydney 1 pair of fiber Capacity max of 64x10 Gbits System in service since September 2008 TONGA FUTUNA NORFOLK

19SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © APNG-2 Southern Cross Cairns Port Moresby Honiara WALLIS SOLOMON ISLANDS PAPUA NEW GUINEA NEW CALEDONIA FIJI AUSTRALIA NIUE Pago Apia AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA COOK ISLANDS Rarotonga FRENCH POLYNESIA Papeete To Hawaii Sydney Auckland PIPE Madang Noumea Suva Gondwana Honotua Tahiti - Hawaii cable VANUATU Port Vila OPT PF cable called « Honotua » km between Tahiti and Hawaii 1 pair of fiber Capacity max of 64x10 Gbits System under implementation In service by Q TONGA FUTUNA Telstra NORFOLK

20SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © APNG-2 Southern Cross Cairns Port Moresby Honiara WALLIS SOLOMON ISLANDS PAPUA NEW GUINEA NEW CALEDONIA FIJI AUSTRALIA NIUE Pago Apia AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA COOK ISLANDS Rarotonga FRENCH POLYNESIA Papeete To Hawaii Sydney Auckland PIPE Madang Noumea Suva Gondwana Honotua SPIN cable VANUATU Port Vila SPIN cable km between Nouméa and Tahiti Landing points in Norfolk, Wallis, Am. Samoa and Niue 2 pairs of fiber (1 express + 1 omnibus) Capacity max of 64x10 Gbits Expected date of commissioning : 2 nd half 2010 TONGA FUTUNA Telstra NORFOLK

21SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © APNG-2 Southern Cross Cairns Port Moresby Honiara WALLIS SOLOMON ISLANDS PAPUA NEW GUINEA NEW CALEDONIA FIJI AUSTRALIA NIUE Pago Apia AMERICAN SAMOA SAMOA COOK ISLANDS Rarotonga FRENCH POLYNESIA Papeete To Hawaii Sydney Auckland PIPE Madang Noumea Suva Gondwana Honotua Other potential landing points VANUATU Port Vila Vanuatu - Port Vila Fiji - Suva Samoa - Apia Tonga - Nukualofa Cook Islands - Rarotonga TONGA FUTUNA Telstra NORFOLK

Tentative time schedule Q2-08 Q3-08Q4-08 Q1-09 Q2-09 Q3-09 Q4-09 Q1-10 Q2-10 Q3-10 Q4-10 Vendor selection and contract signature scheduled end of 2008 Financing finalization Marine survey Cable manufacturing SPIN cable implementation Noumea - Sydney link in service by September 1st Tahiti - Hawaii link in service g g g SPIN open tender launched in June SPIN launching

23SPIN Ltd copyright 2007 © And after SPIN ?

One Laptop Per Child Oceania Project update 5,000 OLPC units gifted by OLPC Boston for a Pacific-wide pilot in all PICTs PNG leading the charge on OLPCs with recent announcement aiming to launch a US$58 million initiative Evaluation of impact OLPCs will be commissioned Good feedback of early impact

Visit OLPC wiki website OLPC Oceania describes OLPC activities in the Islands of the Pacific (excluding New Zealand and Australia)

Teachers and students with OLPC laptops at Patukae

Bridging the communication divide - through Appropriate Technology Thank You for listening