The government has identified and gazetted 240 communities as having poor or no connectivity under section 49 of the Telecommunications Act 2008.

While responding to a written question, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, Manoa Kamikamica says additional areas that lack meaningful connectivity are being identified by the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji and will soon be gazette as Universal Service Areas.

An assessment by TAF highlighted that deploying traditional heavy infrastructure such as towers and supporting power systems will incur high costs.

The assessment also showed that the current universal funds will not be able to support the construction of infrastructure to cover all 240 identified sites.

Kamikamica says the introduction of rapidly deployable and affordable high-capacity backhaul solutions, provided a practical and cost-effective alternative.

He says as the procurement of the power systems may take approximately eight to 10 weeks, the initial rollout will focus on 37 communities.

He says these communities are based in the Central and Western divisions that already have access to the Energy Fiji Limited grid supply.

Kamikamica says this will allow for faster deployment and quicker access to connectivity for these communities, while the rest will receive solar-powered solutions as the process progresses.

The Minister states that the rollout of the managed solution will involve assigning operators exclusive rights to serve designated geographic clusters.

Kamikamica says this exclusive allocation creates an environment that encourages operators to invest in these areas, as they are assured of a dedicated market for their services.

He says this approach fosters competition among operators, drives investment in infrastructure and ensures that connectivity solutions are customized to address the unique challenges faced by each region.