ALL telecom companies licensed to operate in Fiji are required by law to pay a levy to the universal service fund to help the Government provide Internet connectivity to rural and remote Fiji.
This, according to the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji (TAF), includes new entrant Starlink and any other operators like it.
“TAF would like to assure all operators, including incumbent players and new entrants like Starlink, that the levy calculation will be conducted fairly and in accordance with the established guidelines,” TAF chief executive officer Prit Chand said in response to questions from this newspaper.
“All players, regardless of their market entry date, will be treated equitably, with the same standards applied to the calculation of the levy.”
Last week, the head of Fiji’s biggest telecom group called for an immediate review of the universal service obligation (USO) in the telecom licenses in light of companies such as Starlink whose satellite Internet technologies have made cost effective solutions possible for rural connectivity.
“I think the laws allows for the USO to be reviewed by the Government, the operators and the players, so that we rework what’s required to serve the communities and serve it,” Amalgamated Telecom Holdings chief executive officer Ivan Fong said in an interview with this newspaper.
“I think the challenge with the operators is for many years, the funds have been paid to USO but there’s been not much visibility and accountability of where they have been deployed and what’s been done.”
Mr Chand said TAF was committed to transparency and consistency, ensuring that all licensees meet their obligations under the law.
