From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 2, June 2000.

A new wireless telecommunications system being designed for Tonga will be the first of its kind to be used on a nation-wide basis anywhere in the world.

Soane Ramanlal said that Shoreline Communication expected to provide the basic voice traffic by early next year. He said the company was taking the same approach as Shoreline Power, and they had ordered a system, “that is beyond the cutting edge of telecommunications technology. It is a fixed wireless system, operating via voice over internet protocol. It is a wireless system and we will be using radio technology, with transmitters established strategically throughout the islands, and aerials in the homes. A unit will be established in the homes into which you can plug your telephone, fax, television, and your computer to access the Internet.

Soane said the system architecture was the result of a vision of Crown Prince Tupouto’a, Shoreline’s Chairman. “The people in the Silicon Valley are designing the details of a system based on his vision. It has never been deployed on a nation-wide basis anywhere else in the world. It has been used in remote areas and in universities, and it works perfectly there. It has not been deployed nation-wide anywhere, because

Bandwidth is very expensive and in high demand. But we have a lot of it here, and the environment is most suitable for this technology.”

Soane said that Shoreline Communication was a pioneer in this field and once the system was established in Tonga, “a lot of people in Silicon Valley and in telecommunications around the world will be looking at what we are doing. We are not on the cutting edge, we are beyond the cutting edge here, and we have made a textbook approach. This is the first generation of telecommunications and Tonga will be the first country in the world to have it.”

Soane said that the ideas of Shoreline’s Chairman were not based primarily on business motives, but also reflected, “his aspiration for the kingdom and the people to be developed. He strongly believes that if basic infrastructure in telecommunications and electricity is developed to the cutting edge of technology in the way that he envisages, it will provide an environment for economic development to raise the standard of living of his people. My job is to put these projects together. ”

However, Soane said they were running behind schedule, “but we are hoping that we will be able to provide the basic voice traffic by early next year. This is a system that does not require a lot of physical structure. It is all computerised. We will not have a massive physical infrastructure so we will be able to offer a cheaper service. Our operating costs will be lower than the conventional telephone service. The biggest component is the earth station, which has to be shipped over,” he said.

Unlimited calls

“We are hoping at this stage that we will be able to provide unlimited local calls for free, except for a monthly fixed service charge.”

Soane said that the system represented an investment of around $20 million, and they were working together with three of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world. “These companies are interested, not because of the money but because this is the next generation of telecommunications. When HRH went to Silicon Valley and asked, ‘Can anyone design something like this for me?’ these companies jumped on it,” he said.