Samoa Telecommunications 

In terms of access to basic telecommunications services, Samoa is well positioned. Mobile phone and internet services are already available throughout the country. There are more than 110,000 mobile phone customers and a further 15,000 landline connections. Competition and private sector involvement in the telecommunications sector has been a strong force driving these developments, with Digicel entering the market as the second mobile service operator in 2006 and the privatisation of SamoaTel in early 2011.

...

The telecommunications infrastructure is well-established and almost 90% of the country has telephone and Internet coverage. There are 2 major telecommunication companies present, Blue Sky and Digicel, providing a competitive marketplace. There are no restrictions on obtaining SIM cards and mobile numbers, other than providing ID. Data plans are readily available through either of these 2 companies, or several smaller ISP companies.

E-Sky is a privatized Public Body. 25% is still held by the Unit Trust Of Samoa (UTOS), an investment vehicle that lets Samoan citizens take a stake in the company.

Digicel is a company owned by the Irish billionaire Dennis O’Brian, incorporated in Bermuda, and based in Jamaica.

For more information on telecoms contacts, please see the following link: HQ staff will input a link to section 4.11 Additional Services Contact List here.

For addditional information on the current and future situation of samoan telecommunications as well as for an overview of prices for basic telecommunication services, please select the following document:

Samoa Telecommunications Additional Information

Telecommunication Regulation

Regulatory functions such as licensing and frequency management are the responsibilities of the Office of the Regulator (OoTR).

The Office of the Regulator was established in 2006 under the Telecommunications Act 2005 to provide regulatory services for the telecommunications sector in Samoa. However, the Broadcasting and Postal Services Acts 2010 were recently approved by Parliament, which also provide regulatory framework for broadcasting and postal sectors in Samoa. These Acts require the Regulator to establish a fair, unbiased and ethical regime for implementing the objects of these Acts including licensing of telecommunications, broadcasting and postal services, promotion of new services and investment, consumer protection, prevention of anti-competitive activities by service providers, and management of the radio spectrum and national number plans.

Telecommunications Regulations

The Office Of The Regulator is responsible for the issuing of all licenses in regards telecommunications and wireless transmissions.  There are regulations in place for all the forms of communication listed below and permission must be granted before.

For VSAT devices such as handheld Thurayas, they may be brought into the country and used with no special permission, provided an external link provider has already connected them.

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems

Only the larger UN agencies have VSAT phones (see table below). All agencies have radios, however since UNDSS agency left the country in 2015, they do not have a dedicated frequency to operate on.

The Disaster Management Office and Red Cross are the only agencies that use the Emergency Radio Network (ERN).

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

There are a number of ISPs available that organizations are able to contract through, used by Samoan businesses. Reliability and bandwidths are good (4G is readily available). Netvo provides a VSAT connection, and the other providers do so via cable connection (leased from Blue Sky’s).

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)

There are 2 MNO companies operating; Sky has 100% 3G coverage of the country, and Digicel which has 75% country coverage.

Both offer similar services including mobile money. Blue Sky has superior coverage and 4G+ in urban areas, whilst Digicel has lesser coverage and achieves a maximum of 3G speeds.

For information on MNOs please visit the GSM Association website.