A secure, fast and high capacity fiber optic telecommunication network has been established exclusively for the use of Tongan government ministries.

Siaosi Sovaleni, the director of the network, known as the Government of Tonga Network, GOTNET said that the driving force to set up such a network was to make government's accounting system which is stored at the Treasury accessible to Heads of Departments, instead of having to wait for monthly report. Once such a system works efficiently the government Treasurer and the Heads of Departments will know their financial position on a daily basis.

Siaosi said that from when Phase I of the project was implemented on July 2002 to the completion of Phase II on 27 September 2004, all government departments have been linked up using the GOT Network, excepting the Ministry of Defence, the Palace Office and the Prison. He said that these three departments will be linked up under Phase III to be implemented early next year.

Siaosi said the Got Net links were either through fiber optics cable which is carried to government departments that occupy government buildings by electric power posts, or alternatively by leased lines to government departments which are too far away from central Nuku'alofa and are occupying rented buildings.

The government departments which have been linked up to the GOTNET by fiber optics cable were the Ministry of Finance, Prime Minister's Office, Public Service Commission, Environment, Education, Agriculture, Lands and Survey, the Police, the Legislative Assembly, Central Planning Department, Immigration, the Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation, Crown Law, Justice, Tonga Visitors Bureau and the Public Relations Commission. Government departments that have been linked up using leased lines were Ministry of Health, the Statistics Department, Inland Revenue, Customs Department, Public Enterprise, the Ministry of Work, Audit Department, and the Fisheries Department. Not yet linked are the National Reserve Bank and the Retirement Fund Board.

Siaosi said that government opted to establish its own fiber optic network system for security reasons. He said that the GOTNET stands in total isolation from telecommunication services offered by Tonfon and TCC, but the only time they use the Tonfon wireless network is to access their internet service.

Siaosi said that with their fiber optic network GOTNET has the capacity to transfer large files at a very fast speed of transmission.

Following the completion of Phase III of the project early next year, expansion of the network will continue to cover the whole of Tongatapu and eventually the whole of Tonga.

The project was initiated with the establishment of a government computer committee in 1998, chaired by the Minister of Finance, Hon Siosiua 'Utoikamanu. Other members of the committee included representatives from both the public and the private sector.