Children in Nukubalavu are reportedly travelling to the beach late at night to access a mobile signal for school projects, with Headman Deve Vuwai calling for Government assistance to improve connectivity in the village.
Vuwai raised the concern with Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica during the Fijian Media Association’s pre-COP31 Climate Change Town Hall at Nukubalavu Village in Savusavu.
He says the village currently does not have reliable connectivity, making it difficult for children to complete school projects and for villagers to access emergency assistance.
Vuwai says children have been going to the beach at night in search of a signal so they can work on their school projects.
He says the lack of connectivity is also a concern during emergencies because villagers have no reliable way of making calls for help.
Vuwai is asking Government to assist the village with Starlink connectivity.
Responding to the concern, Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica says Government has had a Universal Service Fund for about 16 years, but it had never been activated.
Kamikamica says the current Government worked to activate the fund, and 120 Starlink kits have already been deployed to villages across Fiji.
He says another 120 villages are expected to be connected over the next six months, bringing the number of villages connected through the programme to about 250.
Kamikamica says the setup costs and initial operating costs are being covered through the Universal Service Fund.
He says another 300 villages are expected to be gazetted for the programme, with Government aiming to have up to about 500 villages connected to Starlink within the next 24 to 36 months.
However, Kamikamica says he is not certain whether Nukubalavu has already been gazetted for the Starlink programme.
He says he will ask the Minister for Communications and the Telecommunications Authority to check whether Nukubalavu is included.
Kamikamica says Government will also make inquiries with Vodafone and Digicel to determine whether the connectivity problem could be related to the terrain in the area and mobile signals not reaching the village.
He says the situation in Nukubalavu highlights why reliable connectivity is important, particularly for children who need access to communication for their education and for villagers who may need to make emergency calls.
The Fijian Media Association’s pre-COP31 Climate Change Town Hall was held in Nukubalavu as part of efforts to bring the voices and experiences of remote communities into the wider national and regional climate change discussion.
