Find Telecommunication expertise in Vanuatu

A survey of telecoms in Vanuatu shows there are 45 main telephone lines, 527 mobile phone subscribers and 80 internet users per 1,000 people (2009).

Following privatisation of the sector in 1992, Telecom Vanuatu Ltd (TVL) was established as a joint venture owned equally by the Government of Vanuatu, Cable and Wireless, and France Telecom. The company was given an exclusive licence to operate all telecoms services until 2012. The Government of Vanuatu came under pressure to end TVL’s exclusive franchise prior to its 2012 end date following global moves towards liberalism. As a result, the government surrendered its shares of TVL to the other two shareholders. The Telecommunications Act was amended in 2007 to open the telecoms marker fully to competition. This led to the establishment of private telecoms companies on the islands, including Digicel and Pacific Data Solutions.

Digicel is a major player in the mobiles cellular phone market whilst Telecom Vanuatu Limited (TVL) provides fixed line services in addition to mobile cellular services. Both Telecom Vanuatu Ltd and Digicel Vanuatu now offer 2G or 3G+ services on their mobile networks. Others offer residential Wi-Fi services at relatively competitive rates.

The deregulation of the industry has led to a great range of telecom companies in Vanuatu such as Digicel and Pacific Data Solutions and an increase in internet and mobile phone usage, especially with a recent focus of investment on internet gaming and gambling.

In 2011, the Vanuatu-based telecoms company Interchange Limited signed a deal with a French company to install an international submarine cable system that will link Port Vila with Suva, Fiji; this will more than double Vanuatu’s internet capacity.

The telecom industry in Vanuatu is monitored by the Telecommunication and Radio-communication Regulator.In its 2011 annual report, the Telecommunications and Radio Communications Regulator stated that telecoms revenues have more than doubled in the same time period.

In 2013 the Global Symposium for Regulators consultation in Warsaw, Poland, looked at potential ways to improve the telecoms sector in Vanuatu. It was suggested that private sector initiatives and public-private partnerships would be looked at as possible solutions to address issues of affordability.