2 May 2018

Kiribati TV venture hopes to connect islands

10:28 am on 2 May 2018

There are plans to provide Kiribati with its first digital television station, including the country's only local channel.

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Photo: 123RF

Wave TV is scheduled to kick off services in July with at least 20 pay and free view channels.

Wave TV will be assisted by Papua New Guinea-based Click Pacific with the hope of rolling out services to 1000 homes on the main island of Tarawa and then eventually spreading to other communities.

Wave TV's George Kwong Junior said he believes people benefit from the venture.

"To allow [the] people of Kiribati to get that easy access especially in knowledge-wise and to update them every day all the news and information on TV and all that. TV one will allow local news and all that."

Mr Kwong said currently the people of Kiribati only have access to satellite TV via Sky Pacific.

Click Pacific's Richard Broadbridge said the station will allow i-Kiribati to see themselves on TV, but he said it will also connect them with communities from abroad.

"There's people out there with no real, apart from radio, access to much of the free content that exists in our part of the world, especially content that is coming out of Pasifika through TVNZ and out of the Australia Network so at least there is now an opportunity for these people to access these programmes."