The atoll of Fakaofo, southernmost of the Tokelau Islands. Photo: Wikipedia

[Via Satellite 12-05-2014] Teletok, the sole telecommunications service provider for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand consisting of three small atolls, has selected Kacific to provide satellite broadband from its Kacific 1 High Throughput Satellite (HTS) after it launches in 2017. Tokelau has a population of only 1,400 and, lacking an airport, is only accessible via a charter vessel. According to Kacific, Tokelau’s Internet penetration is comparable to other, more populated Pacific countries despite its size. The connectivity will enable e-government, e-medicine and e-learning from its mainland New Zealand, maritime connectivity and other services. Kacific will use a single high-power Ka-band beam to cover the three atolls.

“When we designed our service we had in mind the need for it to be easily adapted to meet the needs of small, isolated, sparsely populated countries like Tokelau,” said Christian Patouraux, CEO of Kacific. “Tokelau is a text-book case for Kacific: The agreement with Teletok validates our approach.”