No licence yet for new telecommunications services [1]
Saturday, September 30, 2000 - 09:00. Updated on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - 18:08.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 3, September 2000.
So far no licence has been issued for the two companies that are proposing to run Tonga’s telecommunications services, Shoreline Communication, and a yet to be established, Tonga Telecommunications Corporation.
Paula Ma’u from the Prime Minister’s office said that licences had not been issued because a Bill for a new Telecommunications Act had not been passed by the Tongan Parliament. The Act would make it possible for the domestic and the international service to be run by the Corporation. The Act would also authorise the formation of a telecommunications licensing authority.
Meanwhile, he said it was possible for the domestic service to be operated by Tonga Telecom and the international service to be run by the newly established entity, Tonga Telecommunication International Ltd, because they are both fully owned by government.
With regards to Shoreline Communication Paula said that their licence would be issued once the Bill was enacted by parliament, but in the meantime there was still a lot of data and information that had to be passed over from Shoreline to government.