Papua New Guinea Company to build Kiribati’s first digital TV platform

PNG’s digital terrestrial and satellite operator Click Pacific has been contracted to design, install and commission Kiribati’s first digital terrestrial platform advancing the Pacific nation into digital TV.

Wave TV, a multi-channel free and pay platform, will also host the country’s only local channel and will feature local as well as regional TV programs.

The owner of new platform is local businessman George Kwong, who has investments already in wholesale, retail, tourism and shipping.

Click Pacific has already started the ground work for the new operation, which will start with a roll out of 1,000 homes on the main island and eventually spread to other communities.

“This project has been a long time coming. Our people do not have TV so advancing directly into Digital TV brings development to Kiribati and creates new opportunities
for us,” said Kwong

“We are very happy with Click’s record in Papua New Guinea and the region and see them as a natural partner for us now and into the future”, he added.

Click Pacific will install and commission a UHF DVBT2 transmission system with conditional access and multiple channels allowing viewers in Tarawa to access entertainment, news and sports with multiple payment options.

Click currently manages a similar system in PNG and also operates a digital satellite system that has a Pacific-wide footprint with regional TV clients including stations in Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Timor Leste and Fiji. Click Pacific is also a licensed ISP in Papua New Guinea and operates two O3b gateways with internet and TV customers across the country. It also carries the main free to air operators NBC and EMTV on its digital platforms.

“We’re extremely happy to be taking PNG based technology and know-how across the Pacific and what better place than Kiribati. There is definitely a need for better technology and we’re more than happy to oblige” said Click Pacific’s Richard
Broadbridge.

“Our package also includes the training of local staff including areas such as management, engineering, sales and support and production. It will give Kiribati viewers better access to the outside world and an opportunity for the introduction of local content in areas such as education, health and regional affairs” Broadbridge added.

Wave TV’s launch is scheduled for July this year.

SOURCE: CLICK TV/PNG Today