 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific II 2008 |
| Article no.: | 4 | |
| Topic: | Pushing the economy with mobile | |
| Author: | Vanessa Slowey | |
| Title: | CEO | |
| Organisation: | Digicel Pacific | |
| PDF size: | 308KB |
About author
Digicel Pacific CEO Vanessa Slowey is responsible for the launch and management of operations in the Pacific region. Ms Slowey managed the set up of operations for Digicel Samoa Ltd. and of Digicel in Papua New Guinea. Ms Slowey joined Digicel Caribbean and worked on the roll out of Digicel operations in the Caribbean islands of Anguilla, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti, where she held various positions such as General Manager, Digicel Anguilla, Commercial Director, Digicel Trinidad & Tobago and Marketing Director, Digicel Haiti. Ms Slowey previously worked for the Caudwell Group, at Eircell (now Vodafone), and Eircom, the national landline operator in Ireland. Vanessa Slowey was educated in Marketing and Project Management at the Irish Management Institution (IMI), the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and University College Dublin (UCD).
Article abstract
The Pacific region’s islands are geographically dispersed and their population density is low. Until recently, lack of telecommunications infrastructure, high calling costs and poor quality service made telecommunications a luxury for the few. Without market liberalisation and competition, the prices for telecommunications services have remained high. Economic growth and help from the World Bank and Asia Development Bank have prompted telecommunications infrastructure and real mobile telephony competition. The growth of mobile telephony is rapidly changing the lives of Pacific islanders.
Full Article
The Pacific is a geographically dispersed region encompassing myriad cultural, economic and political climates. Connecting people in the region via a telecommunications network has long proved problematic. Lack of infrastructure, high call costs and poor quality of service are just some of the problems that have prevented the numerous islands from bringing communication to the masses. The Pacific is among the few regions in the world where telecommunications markets have not experienced the effects of true liberalisation, a key factor in connecting communities to each other and the rest of the world. Instead, the region is rife with monopolistic telecommunications companies that have had track records of low investment in infrastructure, yet have demanded high prices for their services. However, there is an unprecedented change occurring across the region and it is opening the doors to a pan Pacific network, which is connecting islanders not only to themselves but also to the world beyond their waters. For the first time in years, many economies of the Pacific are experiencing positive economic growth after numerous years of stagnation. This higher growth helps the region as a whole to reduce poverty and contributes to increased employment. The positive economic outlook has enticed international investors, including monetary bodies such as the World Bank and Asia Development Bank to pour money into the region at higher levels than ever before. More importantly, we are seeing unprecedented levels of infrastructure development in the telecommunications sector. Mass access to telecommunications, just a dream less than a decade ago, is becoming a reality for millions of Pacific island people. Central to this change is a competitive mobile communications marketplace. The ramifications of increased mobile penetration are only beginning to be seen as the region’s populations utilise the technology and realise the power of wireless networks. The introduction of competitive mobile markets in a growing number of the region’s economies has rapidly changed the lives of Pacific islanders. Research has shown (Pacific Economic Survey 2008 – AusAID) that improving connectivity improves the quality of life for people in the Pacific. The spread of mobile phones can transform the region and make a real difference to the lives of those who have not had access to the technology before. Competition is the cornerstone of improved connectivity, and with it comes myriad benefits, such as access to work and study opportunities, an easier life for rural and remote communities, and job creation opportunities. Reliable mobile networks ensure that rural communities have access to all the services that the urban dwelling population enjoy. Hard-to-get items can be obtained with a phone call and basic medical supplies and back-up can be sourced with relative ease. Affordability is what drives demand and uptake of mobile communications in developing economies. In all cases where governments have opened up the mobile market to competition, call costs have dropped, the prices of handsets have been slashed, investment in mobile infrastructure has increased and the quality of service levels has improved. Samoa, for example, recently liberalised its mobile market and the change had an immediate impact on the local population. Almost overnight, prices in Samoa for overseas calls from mobile phones fell dramatically – by around 40 per cent. Now, more than 90 per cent of Samoa’s population have access to mobile coverage. In PNG (Papua New Guinea) the price of mobile communications dropped by as much as 60 per cent when competition was introduced. The massive cut in the cost of calls, combined with cheaper handset prices, has put the technology that was once reserved for the few who could afford it, within reach of the majority of the population. In a real sense, competitive mobile markets provide the missing link between communities that are isolated by geographic distance. Cheaper and more reliable mobile telecommunications link communities, enabling people to forge stronger bonds. In few other areas of the world are people as geographically dispersed as in the Pacific region. As a result, many islanders have left their homes and emigrated to other nations including New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Statistics from 2006 reveal that more than half of the population of Samoa live in New Zealand. The population of Samoa in 2007 was 214,265, while the New Zealand Samoan population reached 131,100 in the previous year. Many families are separated as a result. Affordable mobile communications is a way of keeping families together. Significantly cheaper calls ensure that family members can be in regular contact even if separated by wide expanses of water. Mobile networks are not just about keeping communities in touch. When disaster strikes isolated areas, reliable mobile networks act as insurance that relief efforts can be coordinated faster than ever before. For example, when cyclone Guba hit Papua New Guinea’s Oro province in November 2007, destroying fixed phone lines and roads in its wake, mobile phones were used to expedite disaster relief. Beyond connecting communities more cheaply than ever before and being an insurance policy in times of disaster, a liberalised mobile market is a driver for economic growth in the region. A recent report published by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) emphasised the importance of connecting the Pacific with the rest of the world in order to support infrastructure growth and development. The report highlighted improved telecommunications capabilities as a catalyst for economic change and development. According to the report, ICT policies promoting the liberalisation of the telecommunications space were vital to the growth of the region, which it claimed had experienced an economic decline for many years. In a competitive marketplace, local businesses have the opportunity to expand their operations beyond their township to the rest of the country. With improved mobile networks – due to open competition – more global companies will be enticed to invest in the region, boost economic growth and promote locally led business initiatives. The World Bank, for example, is planning to open an office in the Solomon Islands and build a cooperative partnership with the Asian Development Bank to work together in the Polynesian islands of Tonga and Samoa. This year alone, the World Bank intends to loan US$65 million to Pacific projects that will focus on health, the mining sector, technological assistance, youth, and rural development. The World Bank’s recognition of the potential of Pacific economies and its desire to invest in the future of the region is a true example of how market liberalisation can be conducive to economic development.
