Social and economic impacts of telecommunications and internet in Vanuatu

‘Modes of communication are changing, new business ventures are emerging, and mobile phones are becoming a part of everyday life.’

That’s according to a research report by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP); the third in a series of studies on telecommunications use, benefits, and constraints in Vanuatu.

PiPP in collaboration with AusAID/Government of Vanuatu Governance for Growth Programme and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities have been mapping developments and changes in this area since 2008.  In 2011 PiPP collected information from over 1,000 individuals across 16 research sites on 8 of the country’s islands in household surveys and had consultations with more than 100 community representatives from the government sectors, NGO, household, youth and small businesses.

Some key findings from this research:

1. The overwhelming majority of households in Vanuatu have access to a mobile phone.  Four out of five respondents reported personally owning a mobile phone and an increasing number of households have access to three or more mobile phones
2.  Mobile phone usage is higher in urban areas than in rural locations, reflecting issues of more limited coverage, cost (whether actual or perceived) and reliability of service
3.  Gaps in complementary infrastructure affect people’s ability to get maximum benefit from mobile telephony; people have phones but may have difficulty getting access to electricity to charge up batteries or can use their phones get information about current prices for commodities but be unable to get those goods to market because of a lack of shipping or roads
4.  Mobile phones are used extensively in business in both rural and urban areas, particularly at the ‘supply’ (e.g. placing orders with wholesalers) and ‘distribution’ (e.g. to confirm transportation arrangements) stages of the value chain
5.  Use of the internet, whilst growing is still very much in its infancy but people in both urban and rural areas are keen to know more about this technology and are already anticipating the advantages it will bring them both socially and economically.

The full research findings report can be downloaded here.

The funding for this research was provided by AusAID through the Governance for Growth Programme.

For more information contact Talita on +678 29842 or ttuipulotu@pacificpolicy.org or visit our website www.pacificpolicy.org.

The Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP) is an independent not-for-profit think tank that exists to stimulate and support informed policy debate in and about Pacific island countries.

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