technology in Fiji

TECHNOLOGY IN FIJI

Fiji is a developing Island Nation in the Pacific region. The Fiji Government is looking towards improvements in the country’s Information Technology (ICT) infrastructure to compete with the rest of the world. To make a start, Fiji is implementing developments in information, communication and technology in schools that give new ideas and meaning in the classroom. The 21st century classrooms and the new era of teaching and learning demands teachers to be innovative and good users of technology.

Fiji has similar challenges to any developing nation in terms of software and hardware but new reforms by the Government since 2014 has been encouraging. Fijian schools receive full tuition fee grant from the government and 15% of this amount is to be used for ICT in schools. Changes to duty, freight and VAT has also reduced the prices of computers and networking devices in Fiji and many schools can afford to provide decent ICT facilities to their students. While some schools provide basic computer classes to their students, few schools have spent tens of thousands of dollars in server facilities, projectors, internet access, interactive boards and student response tools.

Despite being viewed by the world as an idyllic paradise in the sun, Fiji has much more to offer than just sun and relaxation. A world-class international connectivity via the Southern Cross Cable fibre optic networks gives Fiji competitive edge in the globalised on-line world. The high speed network can now deliver a 240Gbps (capacity of new submarine cable system) fastest, most direct and most secure international bandwidth from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii via the Pacific right to the heart of the Internet in the USA.

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Located strategically (GMT+12) between Asia and the USA, Fiji provides a “time-zone” business advantage, not only to East Asia and the US, but also to Eastern US and Europe. This makes it easily possible for businesses to process data, manage calls, analyse results and develop customer and technical solutions “overnight” from those regions, thus significantly lowering the costs of operating in those markets. In other words, no country begins the day earlier than Fiji. Fiji offers high literacy rates by world standards, with a reasonably young working population. Fiji’s telecommunications infrastructure and improvements in the communication links to the world provides the country with a good platform for IT development. Openings in the mobile and VoIP industry complement the business sector with high expectations for front end and back end ICT business opportunities. Fiji has managed to secure its position in attracting some renowned ICT investors to locate their back office operation in Fiji. The Government offers ICT incentives and ICT dedicated zones to promote the development of the industry. In addition, the ICT stakeholders in Fiji have established the ICT Association to advocate the acceleration of the ICT industry locally.

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Figure : transportation in Fiji

First technology that exporters should check when exporters want to export or doing any business in Fiji, they must focused on the transportations, whether the transportation function well or not function. Transportation is the main key component in the infrastructure of a state. When In Fiji the road system connects all town and cities and ferry rides offer water transportation. There are 25 local airports and two international airports serving as a trans-Pacific air traffic zone from the main island, Viti Levu. Ensuring access to transportation is necessary for the exporters or tourism industry in Fiji. If in Fiji don’t have the good transportation, its make the exporters not interested to exports their product in this country because don’t have any transportation to go to visit their place to bringing their business in the Fiji. Based on our research, in Fiji also do clay handicrafts so it’s can be an easy way if we bring our clay handicrafts from Malaysia to Fiji and Fiji one of the tourism always go to travel and holiday because transportation in Fiji is cheap and easy to go, there is a good networks such as busses, trucks and ferry. So from there when a lot of tourist come to Fiji our product clay handicrafts will attract more tourist to buy clay handicrafts as a souvenir to bring back in their country.

Secondly the main important technology in Fiji is water supply system. Water supply in Fiji is one of the basic infrastructure and this aspect of this country is well maintained and looked after. Almost all the people of Fiji get fresh water from the piped water supply. This water supply department is maintained by the Water Authority of Fiji. The quality of the water that is supplied is very good. The Government of Fiji started reforming the Water and Sewerage Department in 2009. The objective of this reform was to enhance the sustainable delivery of water and sewerage services to appropriate levels of service. The reform aimed at strengthening the then Water and Sewerage Department (WSD) before establishing the Water Authority of Fiji, which is dedicated to the delivery of water supply and sewerage services, autonomous and be able to mobile the necessary resources to meet the demand, effectively and efficiently at required quality standards. We should know about the water in Fiji because if we want to produce a clay handicrafts in Fiji, we should use more water to produce the clay handicrafts. If in Fiji don’t have enough water supply, its make our process to make the clay handicrafts hard to do and it’s make the tourism hard to come to Fiji because don’t have enough water supply.

Advertising using social media one of the part in technology. Advertising is the attempt to influence the buying behavior of customers or clients with a persuasive selling message about products and or services. In business, the goal of advertising is to attract new customers by defining the target market and reaching out to them with an effective ad campaign. In Fiji we should focus on the target market because it is the critical first step in any advertising campaign, we need to know who our intended audience is before we can reach them. If our target audience is a rich people. So we should use an advertising medium such as Facebook taking advantage of social media by creating a business Facebook page and using it to regularly promote products and services, newspaper in Fiji become more decline but newspaper ads still can be effective way to reach customer, television/radio cable companies often have local info channels that offer affordable advertising for small businesses to make an advertising in Fiji and direct mail can be very useful and can be costly if sent via post, but even without a mailing list brochures, flyers, etc. can still be delivered directly to residences and/or businesses in targeted geographic areas. Unfortunately, statistics show that nearly half of direct mail ads are unread by recipients and tossed away as “junk mail.” After we make an advertising our product in Fiji, tourist and citizen in the Fiji know that we sell clay handicrafts from Malaysia. Usually customer will buy exports product if the price more cheap and more quality than their local product. Target market also involves building a demographic profile of the prospective customer by taking into account criteria such as age, gender, marital status, lifestyles, shopping habits, etc.

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Figure : Fiji’s final energy consumption

Electricity, which is another important part of the Fiji technology, is well maintained in the country. All most all the areas of the country have the access to electricity. Electricity distribution and other controls are done by the Fiji Electricity Authority. Nowadays there are pressing need and more demand of electricity. As a result, many other electricity producers are encouraged to take part in this field. The main sources of Fiji electricity are, water and diesel. Transportation, banking, airport services, shipping links and telecommunication are essential to modern commerce and also as a support service to the promotion of raising exports and investments and also the creation of employment for the locals. The electrical current in Fiji is 240 volts with 50 cycles per second. So the main information exporters will need to know for using their own appliances in Fiji is that the electricity in Fiji runs on 240 volts 50Hz. exporters will be able to use their electrical appliances in Fiji if the voltage where their electrical items were manufactured for is a country using 220-240 volts. These countries include the UK, Europe, Australia and most of Asia and Africa. If exporters are from a country that has a different electrical range, such as 100-127 volts, and therefore their electrical items are manufactured to run on that system, they will need to get a converter or a transformer for using their appliances in Fiji. Many travel adapters also have a voltage converter. Countries in this category include most countries in North and South America. In 2015, the country’s total installed electricity generation capacity was 296 megawatts, of which the Fiji National Electricity Authority operated 94%. Of this capacity, 254 megawatts was grid connected. Like for many other SIDs Fiji’s geographical situation means that affordable and accessible energy supply is a challenge. The Island state depends heavily on imported fossil fuel to meet its energy needs, nevertheless, renewable energy sources, mainly hydro, account for 55% of the country’s total energy production. Energy access rates in Fiji have increased, however, 4% of urban residents and nearly 20% of rural dwellers still lack electricity. Even in areas with grid connection, high costs and inequalities within communities, prevent some parts of the population from achieving reliable access to electricity.

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Figure : internet speed graph

Based on the graph above, internet Speed in Fiji increased to 9530.44 KBps in the first quarter of 2017 from 7054.06 KBps in the fourth quarter of 2016. Internet Speed in Fiji averaged 2104.62 KBps from 2007 until 2017, reaching an all the time high of 9530.44 KBps in the first quarter of 2017 and a record low of 218.75 KBps in the second quarter of 2009. The Fijian government 2019/2020 budget has allocated a lot of money towards technology. $39.1million has been allocated to the digital Government transformation. This will enable Fijians to access many service online and connect government to each other so that co-ordination is strengthened. We can conclude that the internet in Fiji become more better years by years. It’s can attract more investor come to invest in Fiji because of the internet speed that can cover all their business. So if we bringing our clay handicraft products come to Fiji, we think that it’s can show the good result to investor invest in our clay handicraft product and to handle the clay handicrafts product from our countries it’s become more easy because we just can control from the our home country, from that we can save our times and cost to go there. With the high internet speed also can make the process to become more faster in the Fiji. For example like the clay handicrafts product is out of stocks, so our production from the home country can know the product that out of stocks then they can take the fast action to send their clay handicrafts products to Fiji. We also should know Fiji banking hour to make the business process going easy, Normal banking hours are from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Thursday and to 4.00pm on Friday. All banks are closed on public holidays.

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Figure : drone with camera

Fiji also use technology drone in their country. Drone are technological marvels that blend aspect of both these concepts. They can be used remotely, are capable of task like travel, surveillance and with new technology like artificial intelligence (AI), are now operate autonomously. The average person in Fiji pictures a modern camera drone when they hear the word ‘drone’ but the truth is drones have been around for longer than they might think. When exporters know that in Fiji country can use a drone, its can make the exporters more interested to export their clay handicrafts product in this country because they know that with drones they can control and monitor the labor doing their jobs from the their places without go to the processing places. Drones also make the jobs become more easier with the better computer systems and electronic technology led to a new generations of drones that were cheaper, easier to fly and more applicable to general use.

Fiji’s telecommunications infrastructure is on par with that of developed countries. For international telecommunications, Fiji is directly linked to the Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN), a third generation submarine fibre optic cable system with direct links to Australia, New Zealand and the US West Coast via Hawaii. Domestic telecommunications technologies available are satellite (VSAT), wireless (WiMax, CDMA and 3G), optical fibre and the traditional copper (ADSL). At the beginning of 1990, the old Telecommunications Department was replaced by Fiji Posts and Telecommunications Ltd, a private company wholly owned by Government. International telecommunications is operated by Fiji International Telecommunications Limited (FINTEL), a joint venture between Cable and Wireless (49%) and Government (51%). Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) is Fiji’s principal telecommunications holding company with main activities being in the provision of local, national (trunk) and mobile telephony and internet and data related services. ATH’s major shareholder is the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) with 58.2 percent, the Government of Fiji (34.6 percent) and other institutional and individual investors (7.2 percent). Mobile phones are proving to be a very popular medium of communication in the country. The mobile phone customer number has grown to 700,000 at the beginning of 2009. Telecommunications Regulatory Unit, now Department of Communications in the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Trade and Communications, was established in 1990. Whilst generally the unit performs the functions and responsibilities of radio frequency spectrum management it is also responsible for development of national plans and policies on the utilisation of the radio frequency spectrum which ensures the employment of the best combination of telecommunication systems in the sector to meet the needs that have been identified. When the exporters make a research about the telecommunication in Fiji, they will know that telecommunication in Fiji also have a good telecommunications, so it can make more investor come to invest in Fiji. From that if exporters bring their clay handicrafts they can get a lot of buyers from that and it’s also can make exporters easy to use the cable, telephone, telegraph, internet ,radio, television and broadcasting to make their business in Fiji.

Technology in Fiji is the most important thing that exporters should know, with the technology now performs many of the mundane tasks that employees used to be expected to perform. This allows employees to focus their time elsewhere on more important duties. This can save money by cutting back on employee expenses and improving productivity. In technology also don’t have any limits to what can be accomplished by a business that employs a successful technology plan, we as an exporters from Malaysia that has a lot country to exports our clay handicrafts products should depends on technology to control and monitor our business from our country. Exporters rely on several aspects of technology for communication such as email, Skype, instant messaging, business phones and video conferencing technology. Communication breakdowns can lead to disasters for exporters to exports clay handicrafts in Fiji. Technology can assist in ensuring that exporters are prepared for even the most difficult communication obstacles. Technology allows businesses to reach more people in less time. For example, clay handicraft, we use a variety of technology mediums to communicate with our clients, potential clients, and experts in the industry. We use technology to attract more customer using social media such as facebook, yellow pages in Fiji, to send out e-newsletters, and publish news and blogs. Technology also increases the capacity of businesses to work together through technology such as CRM’s.