Connectivity Providers Database

Date Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 9:43 PM From: "Mark Flynn" <mark.flynn@telekom.com.sb> To: Ma. Dolores Lizarzaburu <mlizarza@darkwing.uoregon.edu> Cc: Steven Huter <sghuter@nsrc.org>,Loyley Ngira <Loyley.NGIRA@telekom.com.sb> Subject: RE: Solomon Islands and Internet Updates >1) Could you please provide a brief technical description of Solomon Islands' >external connectivity to the Internet - including upstream provider(s), >international bandwidth of the link(s), etc. ? Currently all telecommunications services in the Solomon Islands are provided by Solomon Telekom Company Ltd, under license from the national government, subject to renewal by mid next year, the completion of that process is long overdue. Telekom's ISP operation has the following international bandwidth of the link(s) to upstream provider(s); Honiara - Sydney : 256K symmetrical circuit to Optus in Sydney Australia, via Intelsat. Gizo - Sydney: 64K symmetrical circuit to Optus in Sydney Australia, via Intelsat. (Honiara - Gizo are linked via a 128K symmetrical circuit via Intelsat) Incoming Internet bandwidth in Honiara and Gizo is boosted via PanAmSat SPOTbytes DVB service, we currently have a data rate of 512 kbits of internet access via satellite based C-Band Internet Protocol/DVB. >2) Please also list the URLs for each ISP, and the name and email address >for the appropriate administrative or technical contact. URL: www.telekom.com.sb I am the appropriate admin and technical contact for Internet services, but Loyley Ngira (DGM) cc'd above is also a good contact as he usually responds to the fairly frequent requests we get for this information from bodies like the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), PITA (Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association ), PTC (Pacific Telecommunications Council), the UN organisations, and similar organisation to yourselves. >3)What do you see as the prospects for Internet growth in Solomon Islands; >what would help it, and what are currently the major obstacles? Prospects for Internet growth in the Solomon Islands are at present limited, we have a business plan to continue the development of these services but at present it has to based on some fairly optomistic data to be considered viable. For more information on the obstacles to development see the following URLs; http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2002/fa189_02.html http://www.sibconline.com.sb/main.asp http://www.sibconline.com.sb/Analysis.asp http://www.goasiapacific.com/specials/solomons/ What would help? The direct subsidisation of the capital development costs of telecommunication infrastruture would help greatly. The hard fact is that the high set-up cost for these services are not recoverable in a reasonable time frame so no commercial company, whether in a monopoly or some new competitve environment, is going to make significant (any if we are talking a competitive environment) investments in the development of ICT infrastructure in rural areas of the nation, and the reality is that most if not all of the nation can be considered rural. Although this point of view is no longer popular in developed countries such as the USA and Australia the fact is that even those countries governments must still make funds available to ecourage development of this infrastructure in rural locations. As the national government of the Solomon Islands is broke and currently has to focus on other more pressing matters, there is no possibility that any such funding will be available from the Government or aid donors in the near future but until it is the development of ICT infrastructure will proceed at a very slow pace. Having said that Telekom is already commited to significant rural provincial) development intiatives, these include upgrades to existing telecommunication infrastructure and the installation of completely new sites. In relation to Internet it is anticipated that very early in the new year we will complete the set-up of a new provicial ISP POP at Auki, this will include Honiara - Auki: 64K symmetrical circuit via Intelsat. Increasing the data rate of the PanAmSat SPOTbytes DVB service to allow an increase in the CIR of the PIDs on this service. In regard to your web site (http://www.nsrc.org) data for SB please note that FFA are now linked to the Internet via a 64K circuit to Telekom, Sam has left and Norman is now Information Technology Manager. General Web Links to Information about Solomon Islands http://www.commerce.gov.sb/ http://www.cbsi.com.sb/ http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/solomon_islands/index.html http://www.peoplefirst.net.sb/ The URL directly above is for the Solomon Islands People First Network (PFnet), they are not a ISP in the traditional sense but do provide Internet services to the nation under agreement with Telekom. Best regards, Mark Flynn Manager Information Systems (Internet Services) Solomon Telekom Company Ltd. Solomon Islands, South Pacific Ocean.