Villagers asked to pay for Walesi agent's travel fare to Koro Island

37 year old, Maika Tikoilau from Nasau, Koro, Lomaiviti says villagers have been asked to pay for the Walesi agent’s travel fare to Koro Island to fix their TV connectivity problems. Tikoilau says many of the villagers have their own Walesi set-top boxes and antennas but they are disappointed that they cannot access the Walesi network.

He says previously some high areas of Nasau had TV signals and they used to watch it just by connecting their antenna to the television set. This was an option when the analogue transmitters of the TV stations were on, however people can only access TV now via a Walesi set top box connected to a UHF antenna or satellite dish.

Tikoilau adds some of the villagers were planning to travel to Suva to buy a set-top box but they couldn't due to the fear of another lockdown.

Walesi CEO, Sanjay Maharaj says Koro Island is not affected by the digital switch over as they waived installation fees for affected areas from September to November 2021.

The CEO says households requiring Walesi technicians to attend the installation would need to pay a fee. Meanwhile, Samuela Moce who hails from the village of Nacamaki, Koro, Lomaiviti says people need to get a Walesi set-top box.

Moce says some villagers have been updated and educated from TV programs while using Walesi. He says for those that do not have access to TV are just going back in time.