(notes from last month I forgot to put up.)

November 21st and Tonfon proudly showcases a number of its wireless
telephony products with fanfare for the Vava'u populace. Not to be outdone,
TCC is building the Internet Infrastucture to get the islands 'online' both
voice and data.

In Vava'u today, Tonfon proudly displays its very low cost wireless
telephone service (with charges as low as 4c per minute for fixed-wireless
phones.) Tonfon is offering the full range of services it has recently
released on Tongatapu, which includes three new packages of fixed wireless
which is offering local telephone calls at prices lower than TCC's land-line
service.

More details on these products should be available from the company's
website, http://www.tonfon.to

TCC in a technology flanking move will offer a Christmas present to the
Islands through the extension of their Internet Service. Vava'u residents
will dial-into a Vava'u "POP" which will trunk their services through the
Tongatapu service. The 'local' POP means Vava'u Internet users can call a
'local' Vava'u phone number to access the Internet.

For Christmas, the service is expected to be extended to 'Eua and the Niuas
while Ha'apai will get an independent e-mail server that residents can use
for accessing their e-mail.

Tongatapu residents already have access to TCC's dial-up Internet as well as
TCL's high bandwidth DSL connections.

TCC is reputed to have around 2,600 subscribers to its UCALL mobile
telephone service, while no figures were readily available for Tonfon.

Meanwhile, Tonfon has not gone to sleep and is actively pursuing Internet
clients. After two months of testing their hyped 'wireless solution,' Tonfon
is ready to extend their testing beyond their single "Business Centre"
solution at the Pacific Royale.

We are not aware of the details, but one thing we've been guaranteed is
"it's faster" and "we don't have a price yet, but it will be cheaper."

I like cheaper and better quality.

Don't all go down asking for a connection, let me get my connection first.
The test run will apparently go out to business customers first, so I bought
myself a business phone to go along with my two mobiles.

As a special service to customers, Tonfon will supply the necessary
equipment to get you online, and give you FREE TWO weeks trial to see
whether you like their system before you decide whether you will use their
system or not. The solution is definitely not off-the-shelf so don't expect
to walk into your local Fry's or Best-Buy and be able to pick up one for
your family in Tonga, but apparently the stuff 'works.'

To get in line, visit their office and be nice. Don't tell them I sent you
until you're ready to pay.

Repeaters, repeaters, repeaters.

Have you noticed how mobiles just get terrible reception under some of our
corrugated iron roofings? Two of the buildings where I work are just
terrible on mobile reception. You are lucky to get a tower signal in the
buildings, and if you need to use the phone its a trip outside, so it better
not be raining (like today.) This is not good, and even worse for Tonfon's
fixed mobile service.

Our new fixed mobile works best when we hold the telephone up beside the
Window, which is humourous except when you need to do something other than
using both hands on the telephone. The Tonfon installers assured me that
this will be fixed real soon as Tonfon is putting up 'repeaters' little
antennae boosters that will pump up the transmission signal from the
tower/phone. I showed him a good spot for the 'repeater' just outside my
window.

Of course, our TCC old phone works fine (although I'm told it costs more to
use.)