ST. HELIER, Jersey--(BUSINESS WIRE)--O3b Networks today announced that Telco company Digicel Pacific has signed an agreement to increase satellite capacity and bring state-of-the-art mobile connectivity to the remote Micronesian Island of Nauru.
The Republic of Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific, with approximately 10,000 residents populating a 21 square kilometre area. With its closest neighbour settled nearly 300 kilometres to the East, Nauru is incredibly remote and far beyond the reach of traditional fiber connectivity. Digicel Pacific has been providing connectivity over the O3b satellite-enabled network to the island since January 2015, and has since upgraded its bandwidth by 108.6% over a series of three upgrades.
With this boost in O3b’s connectivity service, Digicel Pacific has deployed 4G/LTE mobile services, supporting the island of Nauru in driving significant economic and social development through enhanced mobile services. The high-throughput, low-latency connectivity provided by O3b’s constellation of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites will give Nauru residents the fast and reliable mobile data experience needed to join an increasingly digitized international community.
As Digicel Pacific has increased its capacity throughout the region, there have been significant increases in data usage, business growth, e-learning and e-health opportunities. The prevalence of 4G/LTE connectivity on Nauru will accelerate that progress, supporting the development of Nauru by allowing island residents to participate in the global economy and connect with distant friends and loved ones with the same ease they would find in a major metropolitan city.
“Digicel and O3b have a long history of working together to develop and deploy cutting edge solutions for customers in the Asia Pacific region,” said Imran Malik, VP of Asia and the Middle East, O3b Networks. “This improvement in mobile services for Nauru will be a catalyst for overall development on the island.”
“At Digicel we pride ourselves on offering our customers best-in-class services, and that’s what they’re getting with 4G/LTE connectivity,” said Yvonne Steele, Digicel Regional CEO. “We have been able to upgrade with O3b three times because of the extraordinary adoption and increase in data usage we’ve seen throughout the region so far. Residents of Nauru and island nations throughout the Pacific are eager to take advantage of global innovations, and we are proud to connect them with those opportunities.”
About O3b Networks Limited
O3b Networks Limited is a global managed data communications service provider operating both space based and terrestrial networks. O3b offers modern carrier-grade IP communications services and applications to ISPs, telco, governments and enterprises in the most remote and inaccessible parts of the planet. O3b Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG).
About Digicel Group
Digicel Group Limited (Digicel) is a leading provider of communications services in 31 markets in the Caribbean and South Pacific regions, where the company provides a comprehensive range of Mobile Communications, Business Solutions, Cable TV & Broadband and other related products and services to retail, corporate (including small- and medium-sized enterprises) and government customers.
Digicel offers HSPA+ or long-term evolution (LTE) mobile technology (4G) in 30 markets and holds the number one mobile market position in 21 markets, with a mobile subscriber market share of more than 50% in 20 markets, as determined by internal company data.
Digicel launched mobile services in Jamaica, its first market, in 2001 and became the market leader there within 15 months of launch, based on a strategy that Digicel has since replicated successfully in several other markets. Digicel’s mobile subscriber base has grown from 0.4 million as of March 31, 2002 to 13.6 million subscribers as of March 31, 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate of 32.3%.
Digicel runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programs. Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams and individuals including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, and Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel also sponsors the West Indies cricket team.
For more information, visit www.digicelgroup.com.