MRS. JERALDINE E.T. SHMULL

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Republic of Palau Country Presentation
APT REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON e-GOVERNMENT 24-25
FEBRUARY 2005 HANOI, S.R. VIETNAM
by
MRS. JERALDINE E.T. SHMULL REPUBLIC OF PALAU
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LOCATION The Republic of Palau is an archipelago
of more than 300 islands, of which only sixteen
are inhabited. It constitutes the most western
group of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. The
nearest land masses are Papua New Guinea (410
miles to the south), the Philippines (550 miles
to the west) and Guam (815 miles to the north).
The islands of Palau form a total land mass of
188 square miles that gives home to one of the
worlds unique phenomena, the Rock Islands. These
collections of mushroom-shaped islets are largely
uninhabited and are located in a large lagoon
that harbors one of the worlds greatest
concentrations of corals, fish and other marine
life.
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• BRIEF HISTORY
• On October 01, 1994, Palau signed the Compact of
  Free Association with the United States of
  America ending more than 200 years of foreign
  governance by Spain, Germany, Japan and finally
  the United States of America.

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ECONOMY Consist of tourism, subsistence
agriculture and fishing. Long-run prospects for
the key tourist sector has been greatly bolstered
by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific,
the rising prosperity of leading East Asian
countries and the willingness of foreigners to
finance infrastructure development. The major
industries in Palau are tourism, craft items,
construction and garment making while exports
consists of shellfish, tuna and garments.
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ITC USAGE IN PALAU After the Second World War-
Telecommunications became the responsibility of
the United Nations Trust Territory
Administration. In 1982, the function was
privatized resulting in the incorporation of a
semi autonomous, Palau National Communications
Corporation (PNCC). At that time, PNCC had less
than 200 customers. During the first decade of
PNCCs existence, the very young company was
challenged to find ways to upgrade the
telecommunication system to meet the nations
growing demand for services.
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In 1994, Lightnet 2000 which is called Ukedel a
Llomes 2000 in Palauan, was initiated with the
goal of providing all 16 inhabited Palauan States
with universal telephone service, as well as the
option of advanced communications services.
Funded by a loan from the United States Rural
Utilities Service (RUS), a new digital switching
system was installed to serve the nation. The
outdated aerial cable plant was completely
replaced with a combination of buried fiber
optics and copper, plus microwave facilities to
reach outlying states.
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In the past 20 years, the Republic of Palau has
made a vast system and operating improvements.
Digital switching and fiber optic technologies
have been implemented with more than 6,500
customers. Today, the Republic of Palau has
one of the highest telephone penetration rates of
39.99 in the Pacific and offers a full array of
basic and advanced telecommunications services
which include internet access at 5.5, cable
television at 16.31 and cellular communication
at 20.51.
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COMMUNICATION INFORMATION TECHNICAL ADVISORY
GROUP (CITAG)
Presidential Executive Order No. 193 established
CITAG in 2001. It was tasked to develop a
comprehensive five year ICT plan that will
promote and advance ICT technologies in the
Republic of Palau and that will include
recommendations for both technology and human
resource development.
Additional responsibilities of CITAG are
to ?Review, make recommendation and identify
potential funding sources for connecting the
Republic of Palau to an appropriate international
fiber optic cable ?Review potential sources of
debt relief for the PNCC system, funded by the
RUS ?Review and make recommendations regarding
the appropriate approach, time frame and
mechanism for joining the National Exchange
Carrier Association (NECA) ?Provide advice and
assistance to the President, the Minister, the
Board and other ICT stakeholders on available
technologies ?Identify potential funding sources
for ICT projects and ?Initiate programs to
promote the increased use of ICT technology.
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COMMON GOALS AND VALUES
In December of 2002, a workshop in conjunction
with e-Pacifika called Widening the Gate
identified Common Goals, Values and Trends
affecting the achievement of further ICT
development in Palau. The development of ICT has
long been hampered by small population and
physical location. These circumstances have
imposed large service costs in education,
economic development, social welfare, health,
travel and communication which in turn has
limited the growth of important industries with
the Republic of Palau. Continued improvements in
telecommunications services and information
technology now provide opportunities for the
Republic of Palau to overcome many of these
circumstances.
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ICT-2003
The conclusion of the e-Pacifika workshop
resulted in the Republic of Palau ICT-2003 which
is a three year plan drafted and dated March 2003
and was finally approved by the President and
Palau Congress on May 2004. It initiated Palau
ICT Policy Statements concerning Human Resources,
Infrastructure development, Cooperation and
Appropriate Policy and Regulations. It also
contains the three year ICT Strategic Plan.
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ON-GOING ACTIVITIE
NECA National Exchange Carrier Association
Membership GYP - Guam Yap Palau Fiber Optic PIDO
Pacific Island Digital Opportunity
APPLICATIONS
National Government WEB site Distance Learning
Area Health Education Center Network San Diego
State University, State of California Telemedicin
e Tripler Hospital, State of Hawaii Immigration
Border Control System Bank branches
on-line Chamber of Commerce WEB site