PICISOC Education SIG was started in May 2020 led by  Andrew Erbs and Ian Thomson.

The Education SIG has 21 members with representatives from:

• PNG
• Vanuatu
• Solomon Islands
• Tuvalu
• Kiribati
• Marshall Islands
• The Federated States of Micronesia
• New Caledonia
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Cook Islands

Education SIG discussions will centre around key topics relevant to ICT in Education including:

• Access and Infrastructure – Networks / Devices / Phones / Tablet and Electrification  
• Human Resources – Digital Literacy and ICT Competency for Educators and Leaders
• Information Systems – Software, Databases and Learning Management Systems
• Policy and Planning – Short, medium and long term planning and financial considerations

The group aims to provide robust discussion around key considerations for adopting Education Technology.

Members of the SIG have contributed examples from their own countries and discussed common challenges, drawing on examples of education technology adoption from other parts of the world.

Discussions are underpinned by international standards and aim to support informed decisions in terms of education technology investments, recognising that the SIDS face unique challenges in terms of geography and infrastructure that need well considered solutions.  

Having recently completed a group discussion on Access and Infrastructure, the Education SIG will soon publish a written report which includes recommendations for Governments and MOEs (this will also be published on the PICISOC listserve).

To subscribe to Education SIG please click the link:  https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/picisoceducation/join

Extracted from Cook Island News

High-speed internet is just around the corner – but low-cost internet is still a distant hope. 

The people of Rarotonga and Aitutaki could be streaming internet on the new high-speed undersea cable as early as this month, if cable operators and Vodafone can just agree the last details, the telecommunications regulator believes.

But Vodafone is dampening down hopes of any price reductions, until the economy recovers from the Covid-19 downturn.

A new economic report on operating the fibre cable proposes a shift from charging retailers by the amount of capacity they pre-purchase, to the volume of traffic they actually use.

The cable should enable a 40 per cent reduction in wholesale prices paid by Vodafone for internet data, it estimates – but without competition, that might translate to only a 10 per cent reduction for families and businesses.

That would be a reduction from $13.34 per GB to $12 per GB on the average prepaid plan – still far more than the benchmark of $3 per GB paid elsewhere in the Pacific.

That is why it is necessary for new competitors to help lower prices further, the report says.

Independent economist John de Ridder’s report was commissioned by the new Competition and Regulatory Authority of the Cook Islands.

Authority chairman Bernard Hill said mobile consumers could be switched over the cable this month, all going well. “I’m prepared to bet Cooks will be the first in the Pacific to have proper commercial service running on the Manatua.”

And he said the traffic pricing model would make it easier for small players to enter the mobile phone and internet provider markets. Already, he said, there was interest from new internet services and facilities providers, as well as the Orama mobile operator.

De Ridder’s report says: “A retail service monopoly is not healthy for the sector and the government is committed to market liberalisation. It would be better, in my view, if retail competition came from new entrants rather than from, say, Avaroa Cable Ltd.”

The cable company yesterday expressed caution about the recommendations, but they were welcomed by William Framhein, whose company Orama Ltd has been engaged in a long legal fight to enter the mobile phone market.

“Fortunately Mr de Ridder has taken an entirely pragmatic and, if I may say, enlightened approach to licensing and sale of bandwidth by the cable company,” Framhein said.

“Far from fearing ‘small players’, Mr de Ridder supports a tariff that allows entry at a low level of cost because it is more likely to encourage competition.”

Vodafone has been hit by the Covid-19 travel restrictions, meaning less business traffic and less tourist traffic. It is still finalising an agreement with Avaroa Cable over how much it will pay for international data – and the de Ridder report acknowledges both companies will take a hit from Covid-19.

Retail prices should drop, de Ridder says, when the undersea cable is switched on to supplement the existing satellite internet. But his report notes that Vodafone is still contracted to buy bandwidth from its satellite provider, SES, and to service the Pa Enua.

This means that if wholesale prices come down 40 per cent, retail prices for the end-consumer might drop only 10 per cent.

Until prices come down, Cook Islands has the most expensive prepaid data of any of the eight Pacific Islands nations the report compares.

Avaroa Cable chief executive Ranulf Scarbrough said John de Ridder was a respected telecommunications regulatory economist and “his views are always interesting”.  

Telecommunications competition was a complex subject, he said, with different model and viewpoints around the world.

“The important thing for the Cook Islands is that consumers have access to affordable, fast, reliable and resilient telecommunications services,” he said.

“It is good to see the new regulator taking a thorough, robust and intellectual approach to helping deliver on these goals, and with a willingness to at least entertain more radical approaches. 

“However, Avaroa Cable Ltd believes more industry dialogue is required and there is some way to go before the best approach for the Cook Islands is determined.”

The Manatua Cable, Scarbrough explained, was a highly-complex, multimillion dollar, transnational development project – and they would not be rushed.

“The 3600km state-of-art optical fibre cable, with six landings in four countries, has taken years to plan and build.  It involves a myriad of investors and stakeholders, such as the Cook Island Government, the New Zealand Aid Programme, the Asian Development Bank and many more. 

“Despite the worst global crisis in living memory, a measles epidemic in Samoa, two cyclones and all the challenges of working with the remoteness of the Pacific Islands, the cable is close to being ready. 

“The vast majority of funding has come from taxpayers’ money and so it is all the more critical to ensure all aspects of the project are delivered precisely as expected and with value-for-money at the forefront. 

“Extensive testing has indicated that the cable is operating well within design parameters.  The final stages of accepting the cable will not, however, be rushed by the Manatua Consortium.

“ACL realises people are both excited and expectant – which is fantastic.  Please be assured that the service will be delivered as soon as possible and without compromising on the all-important quality that is essential if the cable is going to deliver for the people of Polynesia for the next 25 years.”

Vodafone Cook Islands boss Phillip Henderson said he could not say with certainty whether the cable could be operational by the end of the month – but he did look forward to offering better value to consumers.

It was important to remember Vodafone has to keep providing phone and internet services to the Pa Enua “despite services not being profitable”; if new competitors entered the market, Vodafone could not keep carrying that loss.

“Unfortunately for Manatua consortium the current Covid-19 crisis has introduced a level of uncertainty and increased risk associated with making any long term commitments,” Henderson said.

That would affect the price paid by consumers.

“The assumptions and considerations typically associated with these types of decisions have been turned on their heads,” he said. “We will need to see a major recovery in the Cooks economy and any benefits associated with the cable are likely to be aligned with the timing of that recovery.”

Extracted from Cook Island News

Vodafone will be allowed to continue owning and operating the local cable network, as well as selling internet and phone services in a newly-competitive market.

A new report by independent economist John de Ridder makes it clear that Avaroa Cable Ltd should not be licensed to operate as a phone and internet retailer, while simultaneously operating the undersea Manatua Cable.

But the report does not require Vodafone Cook Islands to split its network and retail arms. The report’s position was backed by Bernard Hill, chairman of the new Competition and Regulatory Authority that commissioned the report.

William Framhein, from Orama Ltd, has been fighting to be allowed to set up a new mobile phone company to go head-to-head with Vodafone Cook Islands.

He is concerned that Vodafone may not provide a level playing field to competing companies using its network, and so he has continued his calls for a separation between the network operators and the service providers.

That is what happened in New Zealand when Telecom was required to split in two – a lines company named Chorus and a phone and internet retailer named Spark.

“In other countries it has proved difficult to get network operators to treat all comers the same,” Framhein said, “but restricting them to network provision has solved this common problem and given them a more stable platform of income.”

Vodafone Cook Islands chief executive Phillip Henderson indicated Cook Islands’ small population might be a hurdle to splitting Vodafone’s network and service providers functions.

“Any separation needs to be made in the context of the size of the market and the cost and benefit that may or may not be achieved and the appetite of the Government to underwrite it,” Henderson said.

He emphasised that if the costs to Vodafone of providing services were reduced, then the company might be able to offer consumers better value, as it had in the past.

But he put a dampener on hopes of cheaper prices any time soon. “We will need to see a major recovery in the Cooks economy and any benefits associated with the cable are likely to be aligned with the timing of that recovery.”

View Original Press Release as published on Tonga Gov Portal

22nd June, 2020 Tonga’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT Tonga) under the Ministry of MEIDECC is the first from the Pacific Islands region to become an Operational Member of the Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) on April 2, 2020.

CEO for the Ministry of MEIDECC, Mr. Paula Pouvalu Ma’u said, this is a milestone for the Government and Tonga to partner with APCERT to further enhance CERT Tonga’s capacity and capability in delivering our intended outputs to organisations and the people of Tonga.

APCERT’s mission aims to maintain a trusted contact network of computer security experts in the Asia Pacific region to improve the region’s awareness and competency in relation to computer security incidents through:

• Jointly developing measures to deal with large-scale or regional network security incidents;
• Facilitating information sharing and technology exchange, including information security, computer virus and malicious code among its members;
• Promoting collaborative research and development on subjects of interest to its members;
• Assisting other Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) in the region to conduct efficient and effective computer emergency response;

Director for CERT Tonga, Mr. Siosaia Vaipuna said, “To become an Operational Member of APCERT, our application included fulfilling the requirements of an operational CERT. Our application was kindly sponsored by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and this involved an on-site visit to assess our mandate, operations and processes which was completed in October 2019.”

CERT Tonga’s application becomes official upon approval by the Steering Committee of APCERT.

ENDS

Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change & Communications.

Report by Elkana Capelle Acting Director for ICT at Ministry of Telecommunication Nauru

TOPIC: Overcoming Challenges to Broadband Internet Access in the Pacific & New Opportunities with enabling regulatory and policy frameworks

DESCRIPTION:
This panel will discuss the digital divides in the region and how new technologies and regulation may enable better access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. These include expansion and diversity of connectivity methods, as well as near-term upgrades to long-used technologies such as sub-marine cable and satellite networks. Regulatory elements such as the impact of the outcomes of WRC-19 and the continued deployment of new satellite networks over the PITA region are creating new opportunities for administrations which can adapt regulatory and policy frameworks to enable these technologies to connect the unconnected.

The PITA discussion group was about Overcoming Challenges to Broadband Internet Access in the Pacific.

Overviews – Key Challenges, Current Regulatory Status, Forecasting the Future, Regulatory Environment

· The panel agreed that most pacific Islands key challenges is geography but individual islands have their own challenges such Economics etc.

Our scheduling was change so we have to work on lesser time than was previously allocated. So the present Aaron subdivided each topic to the panel to discuss each different experience between different countries.

I was given Key challenges – User Experience (What can the private sector do to improve support to government and people in the region?)

My statement was short which I stated Nauru is at the point of establishing a marine fiber optic connection and ongoing local project of installing fiber optic throughout the island.

In Nauru we have face major delay on our in-land fiber optic cable installation due to not enough resource and man power for the project. However, this year ICT Department has sort to private sector to contract to individual company to help with the installation. The installation has improved while ICT department can focus our resource to most import area. Fiber installation have reached 70% connectivity plan from collaboration with the private sector.

Each participants have contributed valuable information based on their countries experience.