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As the undersea cable network is now rolled out, more people are now hooked onto the mobile network with 128, 961 now have access to 3G/LTE throughout the country at the end of 2019.
This latest data was released by the Telecommunication Communications of Solomon Islands, as they anticipate a major increase in the next three years.
TCSI reveals that currently there are 478, 116 mobile subscribers throughout the country compared to just 115, 500 ten years ago.
The latest figure shows that 77% of the country’s population is now covered with mobile network compared to 2010 where there was only 20% coverage.
A spokesman for TCSI said they hoped to achieve near 100% in two years time as the cable rollout continues.
On the other hand, the number of fixed lines has continued to decrease. In 2010 there were 8,400 fixed lines but in 2019 it had withered to just 7,007. This means that more people and companies are opting to use mobiles than phone lines, which were popular prior to the arrival of mobile.
The improvements to mobile phone networks have also seen the reduction in wireless hot spot users as well as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) users. In 2010 there were 127 hotspot users but that has reduced this year to just 78— whilst ADSL subscribers also declined from 1,359 users ten years ago to just 872 now.
The statistic has also shown that dial-up using internet have also reduced significantly to just 81 now from 1163 ten years ago.
In terms of revenue, the money earned from mobiles has increased considerably from $108m in 2010 to $433m this year.
Meanwhile it has also been revealed that each employee spends an average of $700 per payday on data. Data is used to connect to the internet. In comparison those in the rural area spend an average of $108 a month on both data and voice.
At a recent talk organized by this magazine at the Holy Cross Cathedral, members’ of the church acknowledged that internet is here to stay. However one of the speakers says the important thing is how families control how much they spend on data.
Many also express concerns about the influence of social networks as it has reduced the families social contacts.
One says families are no longer talking to each other because they spend so much time online than talking to each other as it used to be in the past.
News@SBMOnline2020
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