Starlink Not Wanted in Samoa or Tonga July 24

[grantmc]

There's been some interesting developments and announcements about StarLink by the Kingdom of Tonga recently.

This follows the banning of Starlink by Samoa 18 months ago. That ban remained in force until last March when the Govt somewhat begrudgingly reversed their decision, although there remain restrictions to residents for importation of Starlink equipment. Essentially they'll need a permit and permission from the Govt. I do wonder whether visiting yachts will be allowed legal use of Starlink equipment.

Going by this report, I guess the answer is a firm NO! Report dated 23 May 24 from Radio NZ that says radio equipment will be seized at the Samoan border. Scary announcements!!!

Some years ago the Govt in Tonga, as with some other Pacific countries, decided to embark on restricting and filtering internet access for their population. Here's a dated article discussing this:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/...nted-by-public

But since that time of course we've seen the development, promulgation and propagation of Starlink.

Starlink was actually of huge benefit following in the wake of the Tsunami. The main undersea communications cable was cut by the volcanic eruption. Not just taking out internet and access to one's favourite porn channels, but all electronic comms with the exception of satellite based. Here's an article in which the benefits of an independent wireless service to outlying islands in particular was welcomed. They'd essentially been completely cut off. This Reuters news report extolls the help that Starlink provided. And a similar sentiment article from the Australian BroadCasting Corp.

In recent weeks (as of July 2024) Tonga has issued a notice to Starlink Services, LLC to cease and desist it's service in their country. There have also been some articles that report Tonga regards Starlink as illegal. And from news reports Starlink have complied.

Here are links to some reports:
Interest New Zealand
Islands Business
Cook Islands News

Very recently too a component of Tonga's undersea network was damaged and so, with the ban of Starlink in place residents were transferred back to the days before electronic communication existed. This Guardian article describes the situation and also the petition that locals had been circulating to get the Govt to back down. This is actually very very unusual for the people of Tonga who are incredibly loyal to their King. (Sorry but you may find yourself behind a pay wall for the Guardian article.)

Just to quote from Island Business article, published 15 July 24, in the link about: The Tonga government considers that Starlink‘s roaming network services linked to personal satellite antennas, to be illegal in Tonga, even when they are on ships and yachts passing through Tongan waters and on isolated islands that have no alternative data or telephone services.

And for those who are wondering why Govts of tiny Pacific nations are taking this stance (and perhaps haven't been interested to click links and read all of the articles), from my own research and observation it's all about sexuality.

Here's a travel advisory from the Tongan Govt.
'Sabbath laws limit Sunday activities and most activities are prohibited unless you're at a resort. Activities such as swimming, playing sport, dancing, listening to loud music, and fishing are illegal on Sundays. Sodomy is a criminal offence, punishable with a prison term. Dress modestly and avoid public affection to avoid unwanted attention. '

So I suggest that this is all about preventing porn to enter their countries. In Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and other small island nations citizens do not enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we both demand and expect in the west.

Interested to hear from cruisers in the area if they're able to still use their Starlink connection?

[FlyingScot]

Thank you for posting. Maybe keep a spare SL mini on board if they take the normal one.

[akexpress]

Tonga gave Starlink a conditional use permit yesterday for 6 months until a final agreement can be worked out. not sure about Samoa. We have great Starlink service all the way across the Pacific this season and are just leaving French Polynesia for the Cook islands and then Tonga. It appears to be temporarily sorta out. Priority Data when offshore and unlimited data close to land depending on your plan.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by akexpress

Tonga gave Starlink a conditional use permit yesterday for 6 months ...

Fabulous feedback, thanks

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by akexpress

Tonga gave Starlink a conditional use permit yesterday for 6 months until a final agreement can be worked out...

“Government of Tonga Grants Provisional Temporary Permit to Starlink” ~ by Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change (MEIDECC) under the authority of the Minister responsible for Communications
MEIDECC Press Release ➥ https://www.communications.gov.to/in...it-to-starlink

[bgallinger]

Governments do strange things as we see in Samoa and Tonga. In Canada, American satellite services has been banned or restricted for many years.

[CaptTom]

Not being familiar with those cultures, I wonder whether it might be simpler than moral standards or filtering what content citizens can access. Could it be they were just holding out until enough hard currency passed to the right hands? I know in some countries this sort of thing is considered essential to any business deal.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

Governments do strange things as we see in Samoa and Tonga. In Canada, American satellite services has been banned or restricted for many years.

I am unaware of this. What has been banned ? What has been restricted ?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

Governments do strange things as we see in Samoa and Tonga. In Canada, American satellite services has been banned or restricted for many years.

American Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcasting
It's illegal to use an American DTH satellite service (also referred to as grey market) in Canada to receive and decode encrypted programming. Doing so is in contravention of section 9(1)(c) of the Act.
➥ https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/spe...e-broadcasting

“... The Radiocommunication Act Section 9(1)(c) states: "No person shall…decode an encrypted subscription programming signal or encrypted network feed otherwise than under and in accordance with an authorization from the lawful distributor of the signal or feed"...”

[Nicholson58]

In many Caribbean islands Starlink is considered a threat to established service businesses. No problem on boats but citizens can’t import them. Unfortunate for the locals because those landed services are very unreliable.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

In many Caribbean islands Starlink is considered a threat to established service businesses ...

Many local and regional internet service providers [ISPs], and wireless internet service providers [WISPs] are considering the impact Starlink will have, on their markets, and assessing to what extent this could potentially erode their current business models.
It can reasonably be expected that Starlink will certainly impact the revenue of the smaller ISPs and WISPs, while it probably will not heavily impact telcos and mobile operators, especially those [primarilly] serving higher density areas.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by GordMay

American Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcasting
It's illegal to use an American DTH satellite service (also referred to as grey market) in Canada to receive and decode encrypted programming. Doing so is in contravention of section 9(1)(c) of the Act.
➥ https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/spe...e-broadcasting

I don't think it being illegal to steal a signal without paying for it is quite the same as banning a signal.

[zboss]

It 100% about money. Its not about anything else. If there is a big enough market in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga for these services and Starlink can grease the wheels more than the established telecoms then it'll happen. Although Sabbath may be important to the everyday joe its not really important to the wealthy unless they make money from it.

[CarinaPDX]

I suspect that it is about protecting the undersea cable franchise. In many island nations the phone network is either owned and operated by the government, or the government receives substantial income from it. For years Caribbean countries tried to stop cruisers using their ham radios to communicate without filling their coffers, and international calling cost an arm and a leg. If Starlink were to take substantial business away from the cable provider then that would hurt government revenues and of course the favored citizens that profit from it. After all, the decision to invest in undersea data cables was based on the assumption that they would get 100% of the market, and paying off those costs is going to become more painful with a competitor in the market - especially a much lower cost one. Also, with the cable the government is able to skim off the business but with satellites the revenues are likely to go directly out of the country. Those who benefit from the status quo are going to fight change, and in this case that may be the kingdom itself. And considering the importance of the cable to an island nation unless they are prepared to be totally dependent on satellite communication they are going to need to keep the cable financially viable. While it may seem unfair for cruisers to be prohibited from Starlink no doubt the government considers them an important source of outside revenue, and would have a hard time justifying to their own people why cruisers can have cheap internet and they can't. After all, your role as a tourist is to leave money behind - tourism is a major industry. I wouldn't expect that we will win this one...

Greg

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

I suspect that it is about protecting the undersea cable franchise. In many island nations the phone network is either owned and operated by the government, or the government receives substantial income from it. ...

Tonga Cable ➥ https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en...sa/tonga-cable

“The Tonga-Fiji Submarine Cable System is owned and operated by the state-owned Tonga Cable Limited (TCL) ...
... To fund the Tong Domestic Cable Extension (TDCE), the government of Tonga sold 16.7% of TCL shares to Digicel Tonga Limited (Digicel) for $4.2 million ...
Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC) and Digicel Tonga Limited are leading operators in Tonga.
TCC is a state-owned enterprise (SOE), provides fixed line, mobile and internet services in Tonga ...”

“BW Digital to expand Hawaiki cable to connect Tonga”
➥ https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/e...connect-tonga/