HRH wants to put Tonga at the forefront of information technology

The Millennium wake-up call for Tonga came at the end of 1999 when Crown Prince Tupouto'a announced that he was bidding for a licence to provide a second telephone carrier, and that he was going to introduce wireless technology where, "the customer should be able to buy a computer, plug it in, pull out an aerial and make a phone call. At the same time, he should be able to swipe a card on the computer, establish an account and switch to his favourite TCV channel while he is talking on the phone." A lot of work has been done since then to introduce wireless technology to Tonga, but finally a date has been set for July 2 when the newly formed Tonfön, a trade name owned by Shoreline Communications, will launch its telephone system in Nuku‘alofa. Tonfön also has a fibre optic cable system on the drawing board. Interview with Soane Ramanlal of Tonfön. From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 16, no. 1, June 2001.