Dear Samoa Observer,

Reading yesterday’s article titled “Starlink ordered to halt services”, left me feeling very disappointed. My first disappointment lies with the writer of the article, who simply regurgitated the talking points of the OOTR and then finished off the article with ‘fake news’, suggesting that “Many believe that Starlink is unsafe as information through the use of this service is being stolen for purposes of spying.” I’ve never heard this claim before, so a quick Google search returned only one obscure website claiming this, and the content of said website returned a 100% positive match for being AI-generated.

Readers who are legitimately concerned about their internet traffic being spied on should be aware that all internet communications, whether via satellite or submarine cable, have the potential to be spied upon. You need only read up on what America and its “five eyes” partners have been doing for decades. Let’s not even get started on the spying that oppressive regimes like China do, on the internet of their citizens.

Why were obvious questions not posed to the regulator to further explain their claims that “Starlink services poses a risk to public safety, national security, and the integrity of Samoa's telecommunications infrastructure.”

How is Starlink a risk to public safety? Does Samoa’s OOTR know something that the 40+ countries who have adopted Starlink, don’t know regarding the safety of the terminals?

How is Starlink a risk to national security? On the contrary, an LEO satellite-based internet service would bolster Samoa’s national security, by offering uninterrupted, low-latency communication to the world, should our submarine cables ever be damaged. Did they learn nothing from Tonga’s experience two years ago, after the Ha’apai eruption?

Why is Samoa’s telecommunications infrastructure so frail, that Starlink use poses a threat to its integrity? If this is true, then it is a national scandal. It would suggest that Samoa’s telecommunication infrastructure has been entrusted to the wrong people or companies for far too long. What is obvious, is that Starlink poses a big threat to the integrity of the incumbent ISP’s profit margins, which is not something the OOTR should be concerned itself with.

Show some journalistic integrity and ask the hard questions of any government departments who make these kinds of ridiculous claims.

Secondly, the real source of disappointment lies squarely at the feet of the OOTR and by extension, MCIT and the minister who oversees them. Did they not even read their sector plan, where objective 2.2 states that they are to “Ensure that ICT networks, support infrastructure and end-user devices are reliable, fast and cost-effective.”? None of the “authorized” providers operating in Samoa meet the definition of providing a “fast and cost-effective” service. The introduction of Starlink could change that overnight.

Here are the facts, which anyone can verify for themselves, from the respective company's websites: Starlink standard equipment, costs a one-off WST$1000. A fixed subscription (Roam plan) costs approximately WST$340 per month, for unlimited data at speeds which can reach up to300Mbps. This monthly cost would reduce even further if the service is approved in Samoa. For example, Fiji media reports the service will cost just FJD$99 per month, now that their government has approved the service.

Vodafone fibre, by comparison, has an install cost of WST$299, but they do not offer any truly unlimited plans. If a company or family were to use 1Tb of data using Vodafone’s Fibre service, this would cost a staggering WST$1699 per month, using their 500Gb package ($799) and 9 of their 60Gb data add-ons ($100 each), all at much slower speeds.

I think we can all see clearly what is happening here. OOTR, despite its mandate, is protecting the incumbent provider, whose services are neither fast nor cost-effective for our people.

I call on the government to be bold and take seriously their sector plan, now that there is an opportunity for all Samoans, even in the remotest communities, to finally have fast, cheap and reliable internet. They can show that they are serious about digital transformation in Samoa, by proactively reaching out to SpaceX to fast-track their approval to operate. Who knows – They may even express interest in setting up a ground station in Samoa like they did in Fiji and the SSCC could sell them some capacity on their cable. That would of course require a massive reduction in the exorbitant interconnect costs, which were approved by… you guessed it, the OOTR, just last year. But that is a scandal your investigative journalists can pursue another day.

In summary, the current action by the OOTR is not in the best interest of Samoa and only serves to keep this country in the digital dark ages.

Sincerely,

Sally Faolotoi

A dissatisfied Vodafone customer in Samoa, longing for change.