Beyond the wire: connecting Tonga

broadband internet being installed in downtown
Nukua'lofa, the capital of the Kingdom
of Tonga.
Hoko (‘connect’ in Tongan) is the current buzzword on the streets of the Kingdom of Tonga.
With May 17th recognized around the world as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa is a hive of activity as telecommunications providers set up their activities to mark the day. The billboards have gone up, teenagers have been lining up at auditions to become the new public face of the marketing campaign for Tongan internet, and the Prime Minister, Lord Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō is planning a public Skype session with Tongan soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan.
If there is any year the Kingdom of Tonga would be justifiably excited about its telecomms story, 2013 is it. As one of the most remote island nations on the planet, the impending arrival of high-speed, fiber-optic broadband internet – made possible through the World Bank-supported Pacific Regional Connectivity Project, an 830km-long cable being connected between Fiji and Tonga – means that everyone is talking of hoko.
I spoke to a number of people about the experience with internet in Tonga and how broadband internet would affect their lives.