Cable & Wireless has been here since 1902 operating the international communications over the years up until 1976. In December 1976 the government started participation in the company. At first it took 20% of the shareholding and gradually it increased its level to 51%. FINTEL as a company was established in 1976. I have to say that it has always been a very good relationship. Cable & Wireless values the long-term relationship with the Fiji government and has played a major role in developing communication facilities in the country. The main contribution is the power of the Cable & Wireless group and its world wide reach, operating in 70 countries. We can use those international connections with the group to benefit Fiji as a whole. This company is one of the oldest one in the country.

FINTEL is Fiji's only licensed international carrier. What are the existing facilities FINTEL uses and what are your plans to improve those facilities?

At the moment we have access to the Southern Cross Cable Network, with a full landing here at our station in Vatuwaqa and a satellite earth station. The plans to utilize all the capacity is to bring into Fiji broadband transmissions and all the benefits associated with broadband. This means all the applications and the content including ISP, voice, ICT, etc. We use the satellite for the thin routes around the Pacific and also for domestic communications to Rotuma for Telecom Fiji.

FINTEL invested 45 million FJD in the Southern Cross Cable Network. What are the main benefits that FINTEL has got out of this investment so far?

FINTEL has been able to offer to Fiji and its users a very high capacity, high speed and high reliability to international access. Our main customer is Telecom Fiji as most of our traffic goes straight to Telecom Fiji. We are the link between the domestic operator and the world. We offer everything that any customer might need as we have full access to the Southern Cross as well as to the satellite in terms of connectivity. We have so much capacity available today that whatever the customer needs we tailor our network to meet their requirements.

One of the reasons why FINTEL got into the SCCN is because of the opportunity for multinationals to establish call-centres, Tele-medicine or other Tele-services in Fiji. What are the advantages that Fiji presents for IT investments and what is the response so far?

We have always had cables running through Fiji since the early 1900's. The first one opened in 1903 and then we had the opportunity, when the COMPAC and ANZCAN cables were taken out of service, to have Southern Cross landing in Fiji. There was no technical need for the SCCN to stop here but we saw the opportunity with the government to ensure a full landing of the SCCN. Now we can offer a huge benefit to Fiji. We looked at the future growth pattern of telecommunications not just in Fiji but within the region and around the world and we saw there was a need to bring in the SCCN to complement the satellite network and also to open an alternative and a higher bandwidth and a higher reliability to our network.

And what has been the response so far?

The response has been quite poor to date. The domestic carrier has only 6MB of Internet capacity and up until now there is no international Call Centre operating in Fiji. We have had discussions with several potential Call Centre Operators but as yet nothing has come to bear fruit. We are still talking with them.

What is your feeling about those negotiations and about the future and eventual arrival of Call Centre Operators into Fiji?

I think that eventually we will get one to start operating with us in Fiji. I believe that at the moment there is some uncertainty due to the 2000 coup and due to a perhaps untrained workforce. They are generally concerned about the infrastructure and some of the Union activities in Fiji. But Fiji has an English speaking population and the labour rates are very low at the moment. We have good communications in Fiji, high capacity, etc. We have plenty of space and land available for renting at good rates. FINTEL itself has lots of land which could be used for Call Centres. We can provide the building, the land and the connection to the SCCN very quickly. We have plans already drawn up, the architect's drawing and everything ready to be used for Call Centres. There is no barrier at the moment to settle a successful Call Centre in Fiji. For the audiovisual industry that is looking at coming to the Studio City in Fiji, they have everything, in terms of communication, almost at their doorstep, including the access to the Southern Cross over in Yaqara.

FINTEL is Fiji's only licensed international carrier but now Telpac has brought in cheaper costs. There is a controversy concerning this issue. A telecommunications regulator said recently that "the course now was to work and not to fight". How do you think FINTEL should react?

We are the licensed operator to operate international telecommunications and Telecom Fiji is licensed to operate the domestic telecommunications, both are exclusivities. That is the situation today. Other players come in and start operating without licenses and this contravenes the local laws and regulations. We have to work closely with the government to make sure that our license is observed and respected. I think there is plenty of opportunity for competition but I believe the network should be protected for the time being because of the huge investment that Telecom Fiji and FINTEL have made building and maintaining the networks. We believe there is room for competition in the ISP, potentially in the mobile market and in the supply of customers equipment, that is already liberalized and that has been liberalized for two decades. Nobody rejects the competition as long as it is "controlled". There's no point, in the South Pacific Islands, in simply opening the markets completely overnight. The markets are very small and the cost to operate in the region is higher than in Europe or in Asia so we should be careful of how the competition is brought into the market. We will welcome competition as long as it is managed properly and it is in accordance with certain processes and with the regulatory framework in the country.

And what should be the government's reaction taking into consideration the consequences that this issue might have from a foreign investor point of view?

I think the government has to actually uphold exclusive agreements. It is not good for the government to open up to competition overnight when there are still exclusive licences in operation but we are happy and willing to talk to them and to work together towards a managed path to competition. We have invested tens of millions of dollars, Telecom Fiji has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in networks and we need some time to recover those investments. Nevertheless I think both parties will be willing to talk to the government to come up with a solution. The market is small in the South Pacific. Fiji is a bigger market place than Samoa, Tonga or the Solomon Islands. In those smaller countries the competition may not be the best way for them for the time being. Fiji will welcome competition as long as it is managed correctly by both the government and the foreign investor. Because of the huge investment, we need time to recover, and nobody will re-invest if you overnight open up all the market. People invest under certain conditions. If those conditions are broken that would send a bad signal, the international image deteriorates and people lose confidence in investing if licences are broken. It sends out a very bad message. But I will say again that we are happy to negotiate and to discuss competition, ahead of the termination of our current exclusive licence. It must be an agreed process between the license holder and the government of the day.

Is there any a technological improvement strategy that FINTEL is planning towards rebalancing the tariffs?

It has to take place anyway but at the moment the domestic rentals are probably the lowest of the South Pacific. One of the reasons is that FINTEL effectively cross-subsidizes the domestic side from its relatively high international tariffs. 53% of FINTEL's net revenue goes straight to Telecom Fiji Ltd. That effectively makes the domestic tariffs cheaper. The long-term idea is to reduce the international rates and on the other side you must increase the domestic rates to balance National and International communications. By balancing the domestic and the international rates there could be a domestic increase but that could be put in an attractive package.

Fiji, as compared to similar economies countries like Jamaica or Mauritius, shows a low investment rate. What are the reasons for this?

Because of the political events in the past there has been a concern about Fiji. This has a long term negative effect on the economy and it takes a while until the investors' confidence is restored overseas. The economy is starting to recover now, it is showing positive signs. Straight after the coup there was a negative growth in the economy but now it has turned around. We are now seeing something like a 5% growth in the economy. It is very important for investors' confidence to see some economic growth. Tourism is coming up nicely, getting back to pre-coup levels. The textile industry had a heavy hit after May 2000 and it is recovering and now showing strong signs. The sugar industry is perhaps a point of concern at the moment but it is being addressed by the government by the restructuring program and hopefully it will turn around. This has been the main sector in Fiji for many years and there is still a future for it but I think it has to work more as a private sector activity. Perhaps it should be restructured as it is in Mauritius, a very successful producer now in the sugar sector. Mahogany is meant to play a vital role in the economy. There is a huge potential in the hotel industry, as a matter of fact there are a number of projects in the pipeline that have already started or about to start. All these things will determine an increase of the economy in our country. Fishing is still an industry with an enormous potential and the government should increase the fishing licenses. But tourism is definitely the sector that will keep the country's economic growth.

"FINTEL Talks to the world". What does FINTEL want to tell to the world, to the International Business Community, about the new investment climate in the country?

Fiji is a country where it is easy to live in. I have been here for three years now and I have been in the region for around 20 years having lived fourteen years in the South Pacific. Fiji has a very high potential to attract investors. The English speaking nature of the population and their easy going nature. It is not difficult to set up a business and the business climate has improved. The process to get working permits and licenses has improved significantly and there is plenty of space available to start different businesses. About the land ownership issue, the current government is actually doing its best to improve the situation and there are very good signs so far. FINTEL is helping the country and the South Pacific region in telecommunications development.

In what ways? You are going to Manila to meet the Asian Development Bank, what is the purpose of this trip?

I am going there to hold high level meetings with the Asian Development Bank because we are looking at introducing a Fibre Optic Cable around the South Pacific to link up the major Pacific Island countries coming back into Suva to join the Southern Cross Cable Network. This will give the South Pacific countries a lot of capacity on global applications like all the tele-services, tele-medicine, tele-education, ICT, etc. Everything will be complemented by the satellite networks which will also be used for domestic distribution. The project is very ambitious. It is estimated to be a US$ 450 million project to link up 10 countries. We obviously need funding for this project and we are active in pursuing this as an infrastructure development for the South Pacific Region. It is conceived as a development project. We will need funding for it and one of the key players we hope will be the Asian Development Bank. We have already spoken to the European Investment Bank and other potential funding agencies. We obviously also need to consider local governments, telecom carriers and telecom operators to contribute financially to the project. It is still in a very early stage and we are developing the whole concept. Very soon, people could be really interconnected around the South Pacific. This will engage all the governments and will take their interests to another stage.

Is this the biggest project in your career so far?

I was in the Philippines, before coming to Fiji, as the Project Director for a telecommunications Service Area Scheme project costing over US$ 300 million for Eastern Telecommunications. This project was for the installation of 300,000 landlines and associated equipment and buildings in part of Manila and north-east Luzon. I was also part of the team which installed Mercury Communications' optical fibre network around UK in the 1980's. However, our project in the South Pacific is the biggest project I have been involved with as it could cost about F$ 1,000 million. It is a very ambitious project and it will help to put the South Pacific on the map as it will link up many countries in the region. The reaction so far has been very positive, I have spoken to a number of telecom carriers in the South Pacific and some governments and the feedback I have is quite affirmative. A Project Proposal Paper will soon be distributed to governments and telecom operators/carriers in the South Pacific to formally seek their views on the project. Preliminary discussions with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were positive but the ADB will require financial and traffic projections before the next stage discussions are held.

This sounds like the summit of your career, Will you retire after this, what else would you like to do?

No, I still have a good number of years left so I hope to carry on. I have been involved in telecommunications my whole life, or at least during the last 32 years. I am employed by Cable & Wireless from U.K and I have worked in eleven countries around the world. This project in the South Pacific is very exciting and I will be encouraging it for the next few years. We will see how it develops with the funding agencies' response. The key is to get a number of high profile funding agencies to help us as we cannot ask for the Pacific Islands to pay the US$ 450 million. It would be too much. We will try and share the cost around and get some good funding in Europe and in Asia. There is potentially a lot of money available for developing projects in small countries and the South Pacific is no exception. Europe is very active in helping smaller developing nations to develop and this is part of that process. I am sure that the Europeans, the Asian Development Bank and other agencies are more than positive about assisting us in the task to bridge the digital gap.

Mr. Richards, Could you tell us a little bit more about your personal background?

I joined Cable & Wireless in 1971 and I have worked in Kenya (East Africa), Mauritius & Rodrigues, Bahrain, UK, Solomon Islands, Diego Garcia, Cook Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, Philippines and Fiji. One of the most challenging moments was the building of the optical fibre network in UK and also the project in the Philippines, where we planned to install 300,000 telephone lines in Manila and in north-east Luzon. That was a very difficult project. Once the South Pacific project comes out it will be the most exciting of my career so far.