News in Bislama now available for the first time by cell phone anywhere in Vanuatu / Une première au Vanuatu avec les infos sur les portables

Vanuatu i kaontri long pasifik we olgeta save tok tok long Bislama. Kapital blong hem i Port Vila. Hemi independent aot blong British mo Frenis long July 1980.

Here's a really cool piece of news I found here en français:

Une première au Vanuatu avec les infos sur les portables - La population a depuis mercredi dernier accès à l’information sur les portables à la suite d’un accord signé entre l’Association des médias du Vanuatu et la société de téléphonie mobile Digicel. Des journalistes locaux et membres de l’Association téléchargeront tous les jours des infos sur un site Internet. Ces informations seront ensuite transmises sur les téléphones portables sous forme de message SMS. Cette nouvelle technologie permettra aux habitants du Vanuatu d’avoir accès à des informations rédigées en Bislama à n’importe quel endroit où ils se trouvent sur leur île.

English: A first in Vanuatu with information by portable phone - The population since last Wednesday has had access to information on their cellphones as a result of an accord signed between the Vanuatu Media Association and the telephone company Digicel. Local journalists and members of the Association will load information daily on a website. These pieces of information will then be transmitted to portable phones as SMS messages. This new technology will permit inhabitants of Vanuatu to have access to information written in Bislama no matter where they are located on their island.


On a related note: it seems that Digicel also powers 60% of its Vanuatu network using wind and solar energy:

The Vanuatu arm of multi-national operator, Digicel has completed the second phase of its green power network implementation and is using wind and solar energy solutions to power 25 base stations on the Pacific archipelago. Digicel, which is the leading mobile operator in Vanuatu, now carries more than 60% of its network traffic on base stations powered by renewable energy sources.

Typically, off-grid base stations have been powered by generators running on diesel, which is increasingly erratic in price, is costly to distribute and generates carbon dioxide emissions. Digicel's approach of using solar, wind and hybrid power provides a more cost-effective and reliable solution than either solar cells or wind turbines alone, to bring GSM coverage to some of the most remote communities in Vanuatu.