Solomon Islands’ Minister for Communication and Aviation, Peter Shanel Agovaka, has signed a SBD37.6 million (USD5 million) funding arrangement with Australia’s Head of the Office of the Pacific, Ewen McDonald, to support the construction of six new 3G/4G telecoms towers for Solomon Telekom (Our Telekom) in 2022. The government of Australia will support grant funding for the installation of the new towers across three provinces: four in the Shortland Islands in Western Province, one in Isabel Province, and one in Malaita Province. The funding project forms part of the government’s National Development Strategy and the National Security Strategy, the minister said. ‘Enabling security, welfare, and connectivity for communities in remote parts of the country especially along the Western border is a key priority of my Ministry,’ he noted.
The towers will use Ericsson mobile communications equipment, NEC microwave links and Aussie-supplied mobile towers, and will be fully funded by Australia. Local press reports say that Our Telekom will operate and maintain the infrastructure as part of its broader mobile network. All six towers are expected to be operational by the second half of 2022.