Challenge
Telecommunications companies have faced broad challenges in the Indo-Pacific — a region spanning a huge swath of the globe. The economic task of making costly network investments to cover broad geographies and dispersed populations poses an economic challenge for telecommunications network operators. Emerging threats, like cyberattacks from malicious actors, also introduce new and evolving complexities.
Indeed, China and its state-owned companies have expanded influence by building telecommunications infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific as a part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Analysts warn that China’s ongoing attempts to accumulate smaller telecoms networks and hubs, if left unchecked, could lead to a monopoly over these essential services.
The United States is committed to addressing these concerns by supporting network modernization, security, and resilient infrastructure.
Solution and Impact
DFC has partnered with allies in Australia and Japan to expand affordable, reliable, and secure mobile voice and data access to almost 3 million subscribers across the Pacific Islands.
The improvements were achieved in the acquisition of Digicel Pacific, the leading telecommunications service provider in the Pacific Islands, by Telstra, an Australian telecommunications company. The Australian Government provided a financing package to Telstra, facilitated by multinational support.
Working together, DFC along with Export Finance Australia (EFA) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), agreed to provide up to $50 million each in credit guaranties for EFA’s $1.3 billion financing package to support Telstra’s acquisition of Digicel.
The partnership among leading development finance institutions advances their shared goal to support sustainable economic growth and development across the Indo-Pacific region in service of their respective country’s security and interests. It also counters China’s influence in the region, as Chinese companies had reportedly sought to buy Digicel Pacific.
The breadth of Digicel Pacific’s footprint across the Pacific Islands provided an opportunity for DFC, JBIC, and EFA to coordinate their strategic financing in support of a trusted network operator that is committed to modernizing and expanding access to critical digital services in remote island nations. Digicel Pacific has more than 2.9 million subscribers in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, and Nauru.
This project was profiled in 2024.