Pacific Island of Nauru to Get First Ever Mobile Phones

Digicel has been awarded a GSM license in the Republic of Nauru - marking the first time that the tiny Pacific nation will have mobile phones. Nauru is the sixth market for Digicel in the Pacific, with existing operations in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, and the 32nd Digicel market worldwide.

Minister for Telecommunications, Sprent Dabwido, in announcing today that the Government of Nauru has awarded Digicel a license to operate a GSM network, said, "With no existing mobile operator to serve the 10,000 strong population, Digicel's arrival is a giant step forward for communications in Nauru and will benefit each and every individual in Nauru."

Digicel Pacific is a sister company to Digicel Group, the largest mobile operator in the Caribbean and a recent entrant to the Central American mobile market. Recently, Digicel Group celebrated its 31st market launch in Panama and its 8th anniversary in Jamaica.

The Republic of Nauru is located in the Pacific just north of the Solomon Islands and 40 kilometres south of the Equator. The island is 21 kilometres square and with a population of 10,000 people, who speak Nauruan and English. It is the world's smallest independent nation.

Posted to the site on 27th June 2009