Advanced Television

Tonga licenses Kacific for satellite services

January 26, 2022

By Chris Forrester

Last week, Tonga was dragging its feet in regard to a 15-year licensing agreement reached with Kacific back in 2019. Now, amidst the catastrophic results of the volcano and tsunami, the Tonga government has relented and granted Kacific permission to operate.

Kacific Broadband Satellites has now been cleared by the Tongan telecommunications regulator to provide services to several telecom operators and service providers within Tonga, making fast high-quality broadband available throughout the Kingdom. The regulator lifted a ban on the use of Kacific’s services which Kacific says it understands was imposed due to arbitration proceedings between Kacific and the Tongan government and being heard in a Singapore arbitration court.

Singapore-based Kacific is now able to provide over 1GBPS of satellite capacity to Tonga, as required. It has been offering this capacity since January 21st, and people are already using the service.

Bandwidth from Kacific1 can be shared among the telecom operators and service providers, enabling immediate relief to emergency services. The bandwidth can later be redirected and used for a wide range of activities: supporting mobile networks, connecting communities in remote outer islands or providing high-quality internet connectivity to businesses and agencies, says Kacific.

“We’re extremely pleased that we have now been able to resolve the impasse in providing connectivity,’ says Kacific CEO, Christian Patouraux. “We have many friends and partners in Tonga who are aware that we understand and deeply sympathise with the difficulties they have been facing. Their efforts have helped us secure the approvals we needed to provide this essential service.”

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