Digital GovernmentSamoa’s Journey

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology

Talatalaga Matau, Assistant CEO, Policy & Strategy <Singapore> <Tuesday>, <April> <03> <2018> @ <09.00>

Agenda

1. Where did we start? 2. Where are we now? 3. Where are we headed?

Where did we start?

Where did we start?

Where are we now?

Where are we

headed?

Where did we start?

● 1970’s - Morse Code (Step by Step Exchange-manual) ● 1980’s - Personal Computers & Fax ● 1990’s - Digital Telephone Exchange (Landline), Cellular Mobile (Analog) &

Internet (Dial-Up) ● 2003 - Establish MCIT ● 2004 - Mobile phone penetration around 10% in 2004 ● 2006 - Establish OOTR, Mobile Competition permitted (SamoaTel & Digicel) ● 2009 - Telecom Market completely liberalised (ASH Submarine Cable)

Where did we start?

● SchoolNet operates with limited scope as a pilot 2010 ● Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (telecommunications market concentration) was

6,701 in 2013 ● Samoa was a Least Developed Country (LDC) prior to 2014 ● Deployed a national broadband ‘highway’ (SNBH) for whole-of-government

connectivity in 2015 ● Internet access prices high for small island developing states as of 2015 ● Limited use of alternative forms of computing, largely client-server

Where are we now?

Where are we now?

Where did we start?

Where are we

headed?

Where are we now?

2 Network Providers

5 Internet Service Providers

Landlines ~8000 Subscribers

Cellular ~150,000 Subscribers

Internet Usage ~2200 Business Subscribers

~4800 Mobile Subscribers

Where are we now?

Tui-Samoa Submarine Cable operational since February

Prices for some products, for some carriers have dropped by 50%

Incentive scheme which attracts Investors

Where are we now?

Implementation of the CSP

Establishment of SamCERT

National ID System

Samoa Rapid e-Trade Readiness Assessment

TE SubCom Depot

Patient consultation over SNBH

Virtual Classroom (Live broadcast over SNBH)

Where are we headed?

Where are we

headed?Where are we now?

Where did we start?

Where are we headed?

Samoa to become the Telecom Hub of the Pacific

Building Samoa Innovation Park

Data Centre & Cloud Computing for e-Services

Integrated Digital Services

Digital Television

Where are we headed with SDGs?1. The possibility of several hundred ICT jobs ---> SDG 8 Decent Work and

Economic Growth 2. The upgrades to ICT training institutes---> SDG 4 Education and SDG 9

Industry and Innovation 3. The E-Health work to be undertaken --> SDG 3 Good Health 4. The future work to be conducted in "digital governance" ---> SDG 16 Peace

Justice and Strong Institutions 5. The work already conducted to get the "SADATA" initiative off the ground--

which is now being re-tooled for the SDGs not just Human Rights obligations reporting ---> SDG 16, SDG 10 Reduced Inequality, SDG 5 Gender Equality

6. It was the first SIDS nation to submit a Voluntary National Report https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/samoa

Thank You