Cook Islands May Break Up Mobile Network Monopoly

The mobile network monopoly on the South Pacific's Cook Islands could be broken after a proposal is made to the government by Kukicel to allow it to enter the market. The island nation currently has just the one operator, Telecom Cook Islands, which is owned by Telecom New Zealand (60%) and the Cook Islands government (40%).

William Framhein of Kukicel told Radio New Zealand International that the existing services are not adequate and his company can do better. “In terms of the cellular service, its a coverage problem number one, and secondly the cost of cellular services today is outrageous.”

KukiCel is a division of Mervin Communications, which broadcasts the Matariki FM radio station.

Last year, Telecom Cook Islands carried out an upgrade of its network to install a soft-switch. The network upgrade - carried out by ADC - includes an overall expansion of the network's capacity from 8,000 to 15,000 subscribers along with new services such as prepaid calling, SMS, voicemail, and GPRS data.

According to figures from the Mobile World database, the company ended September with an estimated 3,375 customers - which is only around 15% of the islands population.

On the web: Mobile World - Radio New Zealand International

 

Posted to the site on 25th May 2009