Kiribati is an island nation with over 100,000 inhabitants located in the central Pacific Ocean, about 2,500 km east of Papua New Guinea and 4,000 km southwest of Hawaii. Its population is concentrated with about 2/3 living on the largest island or on 3 islands within microwave link distance from it.
Kiribati’s telecoms market is underserved, having low penetration and high prices. Kiribati has approximately 10,000 2G/GSM mobile subscribers and about 10,000 3G/4G subscribers. For internet it highly depends on satellite connections so far.
In 2017/8 the World Bank approved funds to construct a submarine link to Nauru to be connected to the rest of the world. The Southern Cross Next cable system is expected to be available from 2019/20.
Basics[]
There are two mobile network operators:
- Vodafone Kiribati (formerly ATH or ATHKL)
- Oceanlink
The old former state-owned telco Telecom Services Kiribati Ltd. (TSKL) was sold by the Government of Kiribati by a public tender process to telecoms group Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) based in Fiji for AUD 7.5 million in 2015.
Vodafone is operating a 2G mobile network, recently complemented by 3G and 4G in central islands with a total of about 20,000 subscribers. In addition to mobile broadband and voice, the company offers fixed-wireless WiMAX data services plus ADSL on its fixed telephony network as sole provider.
To strive competition the Government of Kiribati has launched a tender for a 15-year renewable licence to provide mobile services in Kiribati in 2016, but nobody seemed to be interested in a 2nd license for this small isolated market.
Vodafone Kiribati[]
Vodafone (former ATH or ATHKL) operates a 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE network on the islands. 3G and 4G/LTE was started in 2013 already by TKSL making it the first 4G/LTE network in the South Pacific.
Frequencies[]
2G and 3G both operate on 900 MHz with 4G/LTE operating on 1800 MHz (Band 3).
The network consists of 20 base stations with 9 sites upgraded to 4G with 17 of the sites operating on 3G and the remainder still on 2G: list of islands and coverage.
Nevertheless visitors say that 3G/4G speeds are pretty good (averaging around 6 Mbps) and have been tested successfully for video calls, Skype, VoIP, YouTube, which is remarkable for such an isolated island without a fibre link yet.
Availability[]
SIM cards are sold only in ATHKL office, no ID needed. Their main office is located in 72 Main Street, Bairiki, Tarawa. SIM card costs AU$ 5 with zero balance. The standard data rate is AU$ 0.99 per MB so it makes sense to add a data pack below.
You can top-up in almost any kiosk, just look for ATH logo. Top-ups are by recharge cards of AU$ 5, 6, 10, 20 or 50 giving 30 to 180 days of validity. To top-up enter *141*<voucher code>#. To check balance, type *142#.
Data feature packages[]
| Volume | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | midnight - 6am
in 1 night |
AU$ 2 |
| 400 MB | 24 hours | AU$ 2 |
| 800 MB | 24 hours | AU$ 4 |
| 1 GB | 7 days | AU$ 5 |
| 1.2 GB | 7 days | AU$ 6 |
| 1.5 GB | 7 days | AU$ 7 |
| 3.2 GB | 30 days | AU$ 20 |
| 5.5 GB | 30 days | AU$ 30 |
To activate a package, dial *111# and choose a plan except for the 1 GB night pass where activation is done by dialing *120#
Data-only plans[]
It's also possible to purchase a data only sim for use in a Pocket Wifi device that sold for AUD 49. As the data packs on a standard prepaid sim are cheaper it makes no sense to purchase these packs but nethertheless they are available.
| Volume | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 450 MB | 2 days | AU$ 2 |
| 950 MB | 6 days | AU$ 5 |
| 1.7 GB | 6 days | AU$ 6 |
| 2.7 GB | 11 days | AU$ 10 |
| 3.5 GB | 20 days | AU$ 20 |
| 5.7 GB | 30 days | AU$ 30 |
| 6.5 GB | 30 days | AU$ 50 |
To be used in routers and on 4G/LTE only these monthly router plans are sold with a 4G pocket WiFi for AUD 79:
| Name | Volume | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Birimaka 100 | 11 GB | AU$ 100 |
| Birimaka 150 | 16 GB | AU$ 150 |
| Birimaka 200 | 22 GB | AU$ 200 |
| Birimaka 250 | 27 GB | AU$ 250 |
| Birimaka 300 | 33 GB | AU$ 300 |
| Birimaka 400 | 44 GB | AU$ 400 |
To activate open a browser window and enter IP address 192.168.0.1
More info[]
- APN: web.athkl
- Website: https://www.vodafone.com. ki