Manihiki gets permanent cell sites, Rakahanga gets new exchange

Telecom Cook Islands have installed two new cell sites in Manihiki, located in the Northern Outer Islands of the Cook Islands.
The installation of the cell sites into Manihiki comes after the success of installing and trialling a cell site set up in Mangaia late last year. Telecom implemented the cell site in preparation for the full moon eclipse which took place in Mangaia back in August 2010, in an attempt to assess if the equipment was powerful enough to service the lagoon area of Manihiki where the cell site was to originally be moved onwards shortly after.
“Once we installed the cell site in Mangaia we monitored the usage and it was remarkable, so a recommendation was made to leave the cell site in place and make it permanent, which the people in Mangaia were delighted about. The trial confirmed that the equipment was suitable for Manihiki so the installation of a cell site for Manihiki was scheduled for January 2011” said CEO Jules Maher.
Located at Tukao and Tauhunu, the new cell sites in Manihiki, means that residents can now enjoy the benefits of Telecom’s Kokanet mobile phone service. Customers can now be in touch by mobile phone anywhere on the island, the lagoon and for several kilometres out to sea. This will be especially welcome to residents who previously had no landline service and who may have spent most of their time on the lagoon working on the pearl farms.
“We are fine tuning and need to complete a few more things, but we have tested the service in Manihiki and found it to be pretty good. We have tested the Tukao cell site and found it had a signal about 7 miles out to sea towards the north. The Tauhunu site which we tested isn’t as good, but only because it’s on a pole which isn’t as high” said Chief Technology Officer Robert MacFadzien.
As well as installing new cell sites in Manihiki, the Telecom team of seven has also installed a new phone exchange in Rakahanga. One of the technicians is doing a thorough check on the solar panels and another upgrading the Manihiki switch with call care features etc.
Telecom has technicians replacing solar panels on the mast site with higher watt units which will improve charging of the batteries and ensure continuous power supply at the site. A new radio link has been installed between Rakahanga and Manihiki with a higher bandwidth allowing for higher data speeds between the islands.
“We have invested a lot of time and effort into getting Manihiki’s cellular services effectively up and operational. With the installation of the new exchange into Rakahanga, and cell sites into Manihiki we can quickly and easily introduce new services to our customers as we did with Aitutaki” he added.

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