Three GSM Contracts for Pacific Island Nations

interWAVE has won three contracts for GSM infrastructure in the Pacific Islands. These contracts for deployments in the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, and Cook Islands total approximately US$1.5 million. Tim Moran, interWAVE's Managing Director for the Asia/Pacific region, said, "interWAVE's solutions are ideal for remote locations such as the island nations and territories of the Pacific Ocean. We have successfully deployed networks in Micronesia, the Cocos Islands, Guam, and now the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands and Cook Islands, among others, demonstrating the traction our solutions are gaining in this part of the world. There is substantial room to expand in these islands as subscribers come on board. Our solutions are ideal for expansion to other islands, due to the low operational costs, rapid deployment capability and pricing to our customers and to end users."

The first contract is with Solomon Telekom Company Ltd., a joint venture company between the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund, Cable & Wireless and the Solomon Islands Government, for the deployment of the first GSM network in the Solomon Islands. interWAVE completed a 60-day trial with Solomon Telekom to secure the contract, and the operator has already begun adding subscribers to the network.

The second contract is with the Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority, the incumbent operator in the Marshall Islands. The contract calls for interWAVE network products to be deployed on three islands where there is currently no cellular service, thereby connecting the inhabitants of Kili, Jabor Jaluit and Wotja with the remainder of the Marshall Islands and the rest of the world.

The third contract is for satellite compression equipment on the Cook Islands, indicating an initial sale into this market with future contracts expected in the coming quarters as the local telecommunications provider begins build-out of GSM network components on the islands.

In the Solomon Islands, interWAVE has deployed a standalone network with two radio sites in the capital city of Honiara on the main island. The initial system can support up to 800 users, with significant additional capacity designed into the network. Even with 800 users, interWAVE's solution offered unparalleled cost-effectiveness to Solomon Telekom, allowing the company to price the service affordably to residents of the Solomon Islands and also to quickly recover its initial capital investment. The network enables Solomon Telekom to migrate from AMPS to GSM, the world's most widely accepted digital wireless standard.

The Marshall Islands deployment provides local switching and satellite backhaul with compression equipment on each island, as well as the capability for high speed Internet access to schools and offices via interWAVE's point to multipoint broadband equipment."

Posted to the site on 18th June 2003