RC A/ A PIA

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISATION Sector of Coiiimiiiiicatioii, Iiifonnaiioii aiid Iiiforiiiatics

PACIFIC REGIONAL TELEVISION SURVEY PROJECT - 352/RAS/21 PACTEL

MELANESIA REPORT

by: W. Thomas Director of Information - Siiva UNESCO Consultant

O.P. Khushu Director of ABU Tech. Centre ABU Consultant

D. Rutstein (UNICEJ?) SPC Consultant

UNESCO Office for the Pacific States Apia, Western Samoa September 1993

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

PACTEL - MELANESIA TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PROJECT INFORMATION

A. Introduction B. Project Objectives C. Melanesia Mission Composition

and Terms of Reference.

INTRODUCTION TO MELANESIA

COUNTRY REPORTS

A.

B.

C.

D.

Papua New Guinea 1. Country Report 2. Recommendations 3. Contacts

Solomon Islands 1. Country Report 2. Recommendations 3. Contacts

Vanuatu 1. Country Report 2. Recommendations 3. Contacts

Fiji 1. Country Report 2. Recommendations 3. Contacts

1

1 - 2 2 - 3

3 - 4

5 - 6

7 7 - 33

34 - 35 36

37 37 - 50 51 52

53 53 - 78 78 - 79 79

80 80 - 104 104 - 105 106

TELEVISION IN MELANESIA: An Overview 107 - 111 REGIONAL ISSUES 111

A. Human Resources Development 111 - 114 B. Planning Process 114 - 116 C. News Exchange 116 - 117 MAPS

PROJECT INFORMATION

The Pacific Regional Television Survey Project (PACTEL) is a UNESCO

funded project formalised through the International Programme for

the Development of Communication (IPDC) at the 12th session of the

IPDC Intergovernmental Council held in Paris from 11-18 February,

1991.

PACTEL was formulated through cooperation between the Communication

Division of UNESCO the South Pacific Commission (SPC) and the

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Under the project the three

agencies will conduct television needs assessment surveys in the

Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian sectors of the Pacific to

provide country by country information to facilitate the planning of

strategies for the setting up of projects for the development of

television in the region.

Three major missions to Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia are

planned under PACTEL. The mission teams will consist of members from

SPC, ABU and UNESCO or consultants nominated by each agency.

On completion of the television needs assessment reports on the

Pacific region, SPC, ABU and UNESCO will hold a tripartite meeting

to consider the planning of national and regional project proposals,

for submission to funding agencies, to assist television development

in the countries of the Pacific region.

1

This report contains the findings of the second PACTEL mission which

visited the Melanesian Region.

Immediate Objectives

(1) To ascertain the television broadcasting and video

production development needs of the most needy Pacific island

countries in terms of:

(a) infrastructural development;

(b) manpower resources and training;

(c) production and programming;

(d) feasible exchange mechanisms to promote regional

cooperation for television development.

(2) To provide the necessary consultants to carry out extensive

interagency television broadcasting and video, unit development

surveys of the most needy Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian

countries.

(3) To identify areas and elements for the preparation of

development project proposals and possible areas of cooperation

between the three participating agencies and other relevant

international agencies.

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(4) To provide the framework for a detailed interagency report

on the overall findings of the survey missions.

Long-Terms Objectives

(1) To provide detailed development needs information on

television broadcasting and video unit operations of the most needy

Pacific island countries.

(2) To identify national and regional project areas for the

long-term development of television broadcasting and video

production units in the most needy Pacific islands, as well as

possible areas of interagency cooperation for the implementation of

activities.

(3) To provide information for the planning and preparation of

a series of development project proposals relevant to the overall

long-term development of television broadcasting in the Pacific

region for submission to international funding sources.

The UNESCO/SPC/ABU/ PACTEL Melanesia Mission survey team was

composed of the following members.

UNESCO - Mr Walter Thomas, Director of Information, Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Television and Telecommunications, Fiji.

3

South Pacific Commission (SPC) - Mr Dale Rutstein, Consultant

nominated by SPC, Project Officer, Social Mobilization (Media),

UNICEF - Papua New Guinea, former independent video producer.

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) - Mr Om P. Khushu, Director, ABU Technical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The PACTEL mission to Melanesia was conducted from.17 August to 31

August, 1992, and operated under the following terms of reference:

(1) Travel to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,

Vanuatu and Fiji to survey television broadcasting and video

production unit development needs in Melanesia under the

Pacific Regional Television Survey Project (PACTEL);

(2) Meet with the relevant national authorities and media

personnel to view television and video production facilities,

and gather information on the established systems and their

activities;

(3) Make assessments of television infrastructural

development needs, television manpower resources and training

needs, and television production and programming needs;

(4) Assess the feasibility of developing exchange

mechanisms to promote regional cooperation for television

development;

(5)

of the mission.

Prepare a PACTEL Melanesia report covering the findings

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INTRODUCTION TO MELANESIA

The PACTEL Melanesia mission concerns itself with the four states

which make up the independent Pacific Island nations in Melanesia;

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. There are also

significant populations of Melanesian people in the Indonesian

province of Irian Jaya and in New Caledonia, a French territory.

Geographically the four independent Melanesian countries cover an

expanse of ocean some 4000km from end to end encompassing 6.4

million square kilometres of total area, with a total land area of

0.5 million square kilometres. The total population of these

nations adds up to just under 5 million people.

Ethnically these countries are predominantly populated by the

Pacific Islanders with darker skin who were termed llMelanesiansll, by

early European explorers of the region, hence the appellation for

the territory they occupy. This region of the Pacific contains the

largest land masses and therefore has the greatest agricultural and

mineral resource base for economic development. It also covers vast

amounts of ocean and has advanced quite far with its development in

fisheries. But the cultural importance of land, its ownership and

use, is the common feature of all the Melanesian peoples. There is

a remarkable degree of cultural similarity between three of the four

Melanesian countries; Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Fiji, being the westernmost of the group is strongly influenced by

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Polynesian cultural and societal traits. Fiji is often referred to

as the crossover point between Melanesia and Polynesia.

The prospects for mineral resource development is considered vast in

all these countries. Papua New Guinea, ranks in the top five or six

gold producing nations in the world. Until 1989 Papua New Guinea

also operated the world's largest copper mine which accounted for

approximately 30% of the government's revenue. Fiji, Vanuatu and

the Solomon Islands all have gold and other minerals.

In 1992 Papua New Guinea became an oil producing nation when the

Chevron owned Kutubu operation came on line. There is speculation

that the whole Melanesian region has a significant oil reserve.

Mineral and oil prospecting continues actively in the region.

Melanesia also contains the two largest and wealthiest island

countries in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Country Backaround

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is made up of the eastern half of the second

largest island in the world, known as New Guinea, along with several

lesser adjacent islands. The western half of New Guinea is made up

of the Indonesian province, Irian Jaya. The population of PNG is

3.7 million, with an ethnic composition of nearly 100% Melanesian

pacific islanders. There are about 30,000 overseas contract

employees residing in the country, occupying a significant

percentage of the professional, business and skilled labour force.

The country has a relatively large land mass with a rich natural

resource base which the government is aggressively trying to

exploit. Some of the world's richest gold mines are either under

production or in the early stages of development in PNG. In mid

1992, PNG entered into the company of oil producing nations when

it's first petroleum development project came on line. Economic

development is almost entirely dependant on the production of

natural resource raw materials for export, including all the major

tree-based cash crops.

80 to 85% of the population of Papua New Guinea reside in the rural

areas, most of which are not serviced by roads, electricity or

modern sanitation facilities. In addition, a significant proportion

of the people in these rural areas are not adequately serviced by

primary schools or basic health services. Most of the rural areas

of Papua New Guinea are characterized by dense tropical forest

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covering extremely rugged and varied mountainous terrain. Rural

income is predominantly derived from traditional small scale

cultivation of staple food crops with increasing introduction of

smallholder cash-cropping schemes.

The national adult literacy rate is about 50%, the functional

literacy rate may well be much lower. 98% of the land is owned

collectively by traditional local landowners and clans.

There are approximately 800 different languages in PNG but English

is considered the official language. There are two lingua franca;

Melanesian Pidgin, predominantly spoken in the northern IlNew Guinea"

regions and Hiri Motu, spoken in the southern or *IPapuantl region.

But Pidgin is increasingly spoken in all the major town areas.

Radio

The government's National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) operates

three national radio services: Karai, the national MW service,

Kalang, an FM service, and Kundu, a network of 19 provincial radio

stations which relay Karai programs and also originate their own

community service, news and music programs.

NBC was inherited from the colonial radio service which ABC

(Australia) operated in the country until 1972. 'There is a

prevalent feeling on the part of most officials in the country that

radio has not functioned properly in PNG since independence, and

that radio medium is much more important than television, as it

already has the capacity to reach the rural masses in PNG. On

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several occasions the PACTEL mission was told that stra'ightening out

the problems with NBC's radio service was a priority over the

introduction of a government television service. NBC has recently

undergone an AIDAB sponsored management restructuring program, and

is now turning its attention to a major refurbishing of its

technical resources, taking into account antennas, transmitters and

studio facilities. 19 new transmitters were donated recently by the

Japanese Government and have now been installed in almost all of the

provinces.

The Kalang FM service, NBC's commercial arm, has only recently

started to function at a l1break-event1 level, after many years of

losses and admitted mis-management.

Television Background

In 1986-7 a Commission of Inquiry into Broadcasting including

Television (CIBTV) was conducted at the request of the National

Executive Council. This document was presented and approved by

Cabinet. As a Commission of Inquiry it does not have the force of

law, but it is the PACTEL Melanesia mission's belief that the CIBTV

is an excellent document which lays the groundwork for a very sound

regulatory policy for the introduction of television. It seems that

as this document was being written television licences were granted

and TV came into being in PNG. In effect, it was a "cart before the

horset1 situation. It is evident today that the current TV

broadcaster (EMTV) is not guided or regulated by this CIBTV, nor do

the NBC, Spectrum Management or the Post and Telecommunication

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Corporation (PTC) look to it as a document that controls the

operation of television at the present time. (See "Policies and

Regulations") .

In 1986 the Post and Telecommunication's Corporation (PTC) granted

licences to two organizations, EMTV (Media Niugini) and NTN (Niugini

Television Network) to establish television services in PNG. By

1987 both of these foreign owned organizations had commercial

broadcasting transmissions servicing the greater Port Moresby area

with approximately 8 hours of programming each day. Within the

year, however, the NTN service closed down as its Australian owners

were unable to continue to underwrite a start-up television

operation. The EMTV service, which is wholly owned by the Channel

Nine Network in Australia, continues to operate. The EMTV service

now extends, by simultaneous relay, to 6 provincial centres, and by

tape relay, to another. EMTV claims a viewing audience of 400,000

to 500,000.

EMTV's production facilities are quite extensive in comparison to

the rest of the region. It is a full-scale small market television

station which employs standard betacam for all location production

and transmission and C format for editing. Programs are put to air

on a Betacart system. It has a 10mx20m production studio with

extensive dimmer controlled lighting grid, teleprompter and 3xSony

M3 cameras on pedestal camera dollys. The station runs a betacam to

C format A/B roll edit suite with title camera, BVE900 edit

controller, quantafont character generator and adjacent

presentation studio. This edit suite is hired out at about

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US$LOO/hr.

At the present time, EMTV broadcasts 2.5 hours of Australian and

world news in the mornings, a 1.5 hour Australian talk show at

midday, and 8-9 hours of local and international news, Australian

and American entertainment and Australian and international sport in

the evenings. Total programming per day is 12-13 hrs. There are

three programs which contain Papua New Guinean content; the EMTV

Nightly News, Kids Kona -- a daily program that presents various cartoons and Sesame Street linked by a Papua New Guinean presenter

-- and Mekim Music, which airs some local rock-clips produced by independent producers, in addition to its predominant line-up of

overseas music video clips. In addition to these shows, 90% of all

commercials, station IDS and public service announcements are

produced locally with Papua New Guinean talent and content. EMTV

also airs locally produced documentaries, specials and sporting

events, on an irregular basis.

Since EMTV went on air in 1986 there has been a standing offer of

free use of the station's un-scheduled air time to any

government department. To date very little use of this

resource has been made, despite repeated attempts to encourage such

use.

Cable TV

Two commercial cable operators, llHitronll and "Channel 8" provide

programming in Port Moresby and Lae at a cost of approximately

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US$40.00 per month to each household. These services provide as

many as 10 different overseas channels in addition to EMTV and their

own local movie channels. These cable companies grew out of

informal networks of neighborhood satellite reception clubs. They

operate entirely outside of any regulation and they obtain their

international programs without any prior consent from the program

originators.

Policy

The mission noted that television in its various forms exists in

Papua New Guinea. Although there is legislative provision for the

licensing of television under the Radiocommunications Act and

Radiocommunications Regulations in the country a policy defining

controls and standards in the development of television services has

yet to be formulated.

This has resulted in numerous satellite receivers being installed in

PNG with cable systems criss-crossing nearly all urban centres. The

situation has been compromised by

entrepreneurial organisations taking advantage of the lack of policy

to build up systems that cannot readily be dismantled. Subscribers

to this system have a wide choice of programmes such as the ABC,

QTV, Malaysian TV and two video tape channels, all without any

external controls as regards programme content. .

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The PACTEL mission was unable to ascertain from an authoritative

source current government policy with regard to the overall

development of television services in the country other than the

fact that EMTV was the only licensed carrier, and that the

Censorship Board was the body charged with the responsibility of

monitoring video tapes and programmes broadcast by the local

commercial station. This was, perhaps, due to the fact that at the

time of the visit of the mission changes were being effected in the

new Ministry of Information and Communication which is responsible

for the development of media services.

However, the mission was directed to a Report of the Board of

Inquiry into Broadcasting (including Television) in PNG which

presented its views and recommendations to the National Executive

Council in January 1987. The Report, which contains comprehensive

recommendations on the development of radio and television services

in the country, was submitted as the basis for future policies in

this direction. The Board’s terms of reference were to inquire into

and report upon the following:-

1. The adequacy of the Radiocommunications Act and

Radiocommunications Regulations as a vehicle for the

control and licensing of television in Papua New Guinea.

2. The establishment of criteria for acceptable

television operators in Papua New Guinea.

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3. The financial and technical prerequisites for

television operators.

4. The number of channels which should operate. The

type of television network and cover best suited for Papua

New Guinea.

5. What body should be empowered to issue warrants for

broadcasting (including television) operators, and the

terms and conditions upon which such warrants should be

issued, i.e. Tribunal, PTC Board or whatever.

6. Develop the distinction between licences (technical)

and warrants (socio-economics and administrative).

7. What body should be empowered to issue warrants and

control television operators in Papua New Guinea; the

preservation of the independence of such a body; the terms

and conditions upon which such warrants should be issued;

the resources and functions of such a body.

8. Consider Television Receive, Only and cable

network operations.

9. Revenue aspects of broadcast (including

television) licences.

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10. Consider the percentage of television company

ownership which may be held by non Papua New Guinean

interests.

11. The necessity to ensure that the Post and

Telecommunications Corporation still controls and

monitors technical aspects of all broadcasting

(including television ) transmission to ensure

overall harmony of domestic and international radio and

telecommunications.

12. The preservation of the independence of the

controlling authority and its technical advisers.

13. The reflection of broadcasting and television of the

multicultural nature of PNG society; the recognition of

regional, sectional and minority interests in the

structure of broadcasting and television and in programme

design, including provision of opportunities for access to

broadcasting and television, and further including the

recruitment and training of staff of television operators.

14. The desirability and means of developing an

association between television as a medium and

education as a life long process.

15. The development of a wide range of programmes for

regional, sectional, minority and specialised interests

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including the treatment of news, education,'religions and

sports.

16. The desirable limits on radio and television

advertising; the adequacy of standards and rules; the

desirability of censorship; procedures for monitoring and

complaints; the question of television and violence; the

mix of overseas and local programme content.

17. Any associated matters considered to be

relevant to the general objects and issues of this

inquiry.

On a llRecommended Broadcasting Structure," the Board of Inquiry

noted, among other things, that broadcasting in all its forms should

be distinctively Papua New Guinean in character and content and

should serve the nation by reflecting and supporting the

multi-cultural nature of the society and reaching all peoples of

Papua New Guinea rather than limiting its scope to advantaged

audiences for the sake of financial gain.

On Radio - the Board noted that the responsibility for radio services to the nation was carried solely by the National

Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and that it had not achieved

geographically comprehensive coverage.

It recommended that controls and systems must be implemented which

would not only advance the NBC as the voice of the nation but would

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also encourage broadcasting of local relevance, and stimulate

interest in all the disciplines of broadcasting as a career.

On home video - the Board noted that the absence of effective controls in relation to video tapes has led to the introduction of

undesirable video programs and that effective censorship and

consumer protection was urgently required.

On Television broadcasting - the Board noted that the absence of comprehensive policies and controls had led to a proliferation of

uncontrolled television systems in the form of cable reticulation of

offshore satellite programming and videotape transmissions.

Although such systems had a significant potential for community

benefit, the absence of external programme regulation, technical

coordination and local programming was indicative of the need for

national controls. The Board also suggested that it was not in the

national interest to contemplate private commercial broadcast

television without providing for the early introduction of public

service television and for rational coordination of transmission

requirements.

On Programme Standards - the Board noted there was no instrument imposing standards for programmes, including advertising content,

applicable to broadcasting generally. The Broadcasting Commission

Act (Section 8) empowers the Commission to lay down standards of

taste impartiality and accuracy in respect of its programmes.

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The Board regarded it as ltcritically important to the welfare of the

nation that public service television broadcasting be established as

soon as practicable. To achieve that object NBC must be

strengthened administratively, and both enabled and charged to

develop its production and training resources. The composition of

the Board required by the National Broadcasting Commission Act is

inadequate and inappropriate for the attainment of these

objectives. If

Major recommendations by the Board of Inquiry, which the mission

perceived as serving the purposes of this report, include -

1. Provisions to allow communities to be

permitted to develop and operate their own low power

local radio stations called by the Board, llCommunity

Radio" stations.

2. A Broadcasting Tribunal be established and

funded by commercial broadcasting services and

government subsidy to issue Warrants to -

NBC Radio Services

Future NBC Public Service Television

Private Commercial Radio Stations

Private Commercial TV networks

Community Radio Stations

Cable Operators

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3. Television to be planned to be introduced on the

basis of two private commercial channels and the NBC

Public Service Channel.

4. Television to be planned to be introduced on a

nationwide basis.

5. The PTC to set up a Broadcast Division to

provide -

(a) the TV transmission, on a commercial

basis, for any commercial operators

(b) the NBC transmission network for radio and

ultimately TV.

(cl the technical support to the Broadcasting

Tribunal.

6. The PTC to continue to issue licences for

radio and television broadcasting as well as to

implement the licensing of cable systems.

7. The Broadcast Tribunal to consider the

introduction of private commercial radio.

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8. Video tape programme distributors to be

licensed and the Censorship Board be strengthened by the

creation of voluntary Provincial Censorship Advisory

Committees.

9. Cable systems to come under control by means of

licensing and warrants.

Independent Production Houses

There are five companies based in Port Moresby which are in the

business of producing television or video-based programs. They are:

(1) Pacific View Productions - 3xBetacamSP VTR edit suite, BVE 910 edit controller, fully component edit suite&vision mixer, 2x

Ikegami Betacamcorders (not SP), paintbox, 2x2 machine cuts only

off-line edit suites. Edit suite is hired out at US$200/hr.

Expatriate director plus five trained competent production staff.

(2) First Take Productions - Betacam SP portable recorder and 3xccd camera, 2xS-VHS off-line edit suite, time code based edit

controller, 7mx7m studio with lighting grid. Expatriate director

plus one trained production assistant.

(3) Frank Mills Associates - BVW400-SPBetacamcorder, ENG field

complement accessories. Expatriate director, one support staff, no

trained production staff.

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(4) Visual Add-vantage - Hire all production facilities, mostly produce television commercials for broadcast on EMTV. Expatriate

director plus four trained production staff.

(5) Tukana Media Productions (TMP) - (Nationally owned and

operated) JVC A/B roll S-VHS edit suite, FOR-A vision mixer/DVE,

2xTBCs, JVC S-VHS camcorder, small studio office complex. It is

worth noting that Albert Toro, the PNG national director of TMP, has

started up his private company with financing from the Agriculture

Bank of PNG, entirely on his own initiative. He has many years of

experience in feature film and television production, and the

quality of his work, at times, approaches an international standard.

Albert Toro has two trained production technicians on his staff.

(6) Tilkil Kuan Productions - Outside of Port Moresby in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province, there is another private video

production company owned by a Papua New Guinea national. The owner

is a woman named Maggie Wilson. This company has produced two

dramas which have aired on EMTV, as well as numerous cultural and

training documentaries. The PACTEL mission did not visit her

studio, but it is a low band U-matic production facility.

The above companies service an expanding video production industry.

They provide broadcast television with TV Commercials, programs, and

music clips. They also supply programs to a wide array of

non-broadcast video users with corporate training, community

development, cultural preservation, public awareness, video news

release and social marketing programs.

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Government Production Units

There are also several government owned video production facilities

operating in PNG. They are:

(1) The Ministry of Education’s Educational Television Unit - low band U-Matic to S-VHS A/B roll edit suite, DVE (Sony DME450), Paltex

computerized edit controller, 2xTBCs, three field/studio cameras and

10 at-a-time VHS dubbing rack. Mark Sisson, the American director

of this unit, has produced a proposal to upgrade the facility and

staff to be capable of producing a regularly programmed schedule of

educational broadcasts. This proposal totals US$400,000 over 10

years. Expatriate director plus three staff.

(2)

suite, video typewriter/chroma keyer, 3xTBCs, BVE900 edit

controller, TVRO, 2xCCD camera/portapack rigs, wide variety of

accessories. National director, three staff plus Japanese volunteer

repair technician.

The Police College Video Unit - low band U-Matic A/B roll edit

(3) The University of PNG Creative Arts Faculty Video Production

Unit - low band U-Matic cuts only edit suite, 2 CCD camera/portapack rigs, video typewriter, timecode based edit controller, lxTBC, 12

dimmer studio lighting grid, is attached to a 16 track recording

studio. This studio also has a nine seater production vehicle.

Papua New Guinean director plus two staff. (These personnel are

primarily occupied with multitrack studio sound recording, hence,

the video equipment is almost never used.)

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(4) UPNG Language and Literacy Department.

(5) University of Technology Audio Visual Center, L,ae.

(6) Institute of Papua New Guinean Studies (working in the film

medium).

Programme Production

Of all the countries visited in Melanesia, PNG has t.he most

extensive TV/Video production facilities in both the private and

public sectors. It also has a significant number of well-trained

writers, producers, and production technicians. Despite this, EMTV

has not been able to put the work of these producers and filmmakers

on the air in an acceptable and consistent way. The case of PNG

will be an important lesson for the other countries of Melanesia

that are about to start television services, and desire to realize

the goal of broadcasting locally produced programs which reflect and

reinforce cultural values. Here is the largest and certainly

the wealthiest country of the region, with the most facilities and

trained personnel, and yet it has not succeeded. in realizing this

goal.

It is clear that the economics of true local program production

requires serious consideration. A case in point .... EMTV has been

offered a locally produced drama series called "Warriors in

Transit". The series is about the lives of urban poor in Port

Moresby and was produced by Albert Toro and members of the PNG

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National Theatre Company. EMTV claims it cannot find commercial

sponsorship for the series. "Warriors in Transit" was produced at

a cost of approximately US$170,000. (8x30min @ $21,25O/episode) The

maximum revenue that a prime time 30min slot could generate on EMTV

would be about US$2,000. At this rate the producers of this series

will not be able to recover their costs through an EMTV broadcast

proposition. EMTV claim the asking price for this series,

USD21,250/episode, is 10 times what the market will bear.

The talent and infrastructure exists in PNG to produce quality local

programs, however, there is, at this time, no financially viable

broadcast outlet for these programs. If PNG TV producers desire to

bring local programming to the public they will have to reduce

production costs or obtain subsidies. John Taylor, the Managing

Director of EMTV, is firmly on record as stating that Papua New

Guineans do not want to see Papua New Guinean programmes. He is

convinced that they would rather see programming from other

countries. This assertion was disputed by every single party that

we talked with during the course of our tour of mission in Papua New

Guinea.

In the area of non-broadcast video production there is quite a lot

of activity. This is usually social or economic development related

programming which is commissioned by a government agency, UN agency,

international aid organization or private corporation. Many of

these agencies have found video programmes to be an excellent medium

for meeting some of their information needs and regularly budget for

video communications. These independent producers are contracted

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primarily to make programs for closed-circuit (VCR/TVset) use

throughout the country. By all accounts the phenomenon of rural VCR

use is spreading, even into remote areas, consequently more and more

information is being disseminated through this informal medium.

By informal industry agreement 80% of all television commercials are

produced within PNG. Many of the world's largest corporations have

produced PNG versions of their international TV Commercials using

exclusively PNG facilities and talent. These TV Commercials are

produced on budgets ranging from US$l,OOO to $20,000.

There is a new and growing demand for locally produced rock clips

which are broadcast on the EMTV music video program, "Mekim Musik."

To date, scores of these low-budget clips have been produced by the

major sound recording studios in support of their popular music

cassette releases.

EMTV has made many of its production facilities available free or at

very low cost to independent producers of non-profit productions.

The offer of access to un-scheduled air time was made on a number of

occasions to different ministries in government, and while it

always generated interest, no government or development agency was

able to utilize this resource in a consistent way. (For a brief

time the Department of Health was able to supply a health education

program but this deteriorated when the supply of pre-produced local

and overseas programmes ran out.)

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This has been the case despite the fact that several government

agencies have their own video production facilities and are

regularly producing programs. These video production studios are

funded by government and foreign aid and are not under pressure to

profit from their productions; their programs are already in the

public realm. The educational television unit is the most likely

producer which could take advantage of air-time access. School

broadcasts would only benefit urban classrooms at first, but in 1993

the EMTV signal will be available to the whole country via

satellite. The educational television studio could be preparing

itself for this eventuality.

In summary, there is a diverse and thriving video production

industry in PNG. But, apart from TV commercials and rock clips,

this production industry has not succeeded in getting its work on

the air in a way that would satisfy the nation’s desires for locally

produced television viewing material.

Transmission

The transmission network of the commercial station, EMTV, consists

of a 500 watt transmitter in Port Moresby; 5 transmitters with base

power output of 200 watts in Lae, Goroka, Madang, Mt. Hagen and

Rabual; and 2 VHF/UHF translators at Wau and Bulolo, which are

slaved to the Lae transmitter. All, except the translators, operate

on channel 9 (202-209 MHz). The transmitter in Port Moresby

operates in association with a lOdB gain antenna mounted on a 90

metre supporting structure. The antennas elsewhere are simpler. In

26

some cases multi element receiving Yagi's have been employed for

transmission purposes in order to obtain sharper directivity towards

population concentrations. All transmitters are

clock-operated-unmanned-installations housed in sealed containers.

A special housing, open at the sides, has been designed and

fabricated for the translator sites. The transmitters are NEC and

Thomson LGT products.

All transmitter sites except Rabaul are fed through microwave

bearers of the telecommunication system. The Rabaul transmitter (in

East New Britain province) is a tape replay station.

EMTV is a purely commercial operation tailored for urban setting.

For understandable reasons the station has chosen the initial

transmission sites in centres of relatively high population

concentration. The mission was told that EMTV is promoting a 'self

help' scheme which will enable the provincial governments to acquire

translator packages, each costing approximately US$16,000, to

retransmit the EMTV signal to other areas as they might consider

necessary.

No systematic survey has yet been carried out to precisely

determine the extent of coverage provided by EMTV's transmission

network. However, EMTV believes that the signal is available to a

potential audience of up to 500,000 (roughly 15% of the country's

population). In principle, potential exists for extending coverage

to other centres in the mainland as well as New Britain, New Ireland

and Bougainville islands if the microwave routes extending to these

27

areas are upgraded. But this will be an expensive project, as

evidenced by the large expenditure that was incurred on upgrading

the Port Moresby - Lae section. the use of a satellite channel for distribution purposes.

A more efficient solution would be

The mission was told that a lease arrangement has already been

concluded for domestic use of the Indonesian Palapa 2 BP satellite

stationed at 113" E longtitude. The lease, administered by Post and

Telecommunication Corporation (PTC), covers 1 1/2 3 6 MHz

transponders, out of which a capacity of 20 MHz is proposed to be

earmarked for television programme distribution. The satellite

network will consist of a hub station in Port Moresby and 11 remote

stations elsewhere in the country. PTC expects that the ground

segment hardware will be in place by November 1992. But whether or

not the network will be immediately used for television traffic

will depend on the outcome of the discussions which PTC was holding

with EMTV at the time of the survey.

If a satellite distribution network is established, it will be

highly desirable to add to it a suitable number of TVRO's,

preferably solar powered, for community reception in remote areas

which are likely to remain beyond the reach of the terrestrial

network for many years to come. Community reception may in fact be

the only solution for extending television coverage to unelectrified

areas where individual ownership of TV receivers would be

constrained by the high cost of power generators which must

accompany them.

PTC confirmed that plans are being pursued for a regional satellite

system, called PACSTAR, in partnership with other countries of the

region. A consulting firm, engaged in February 1992, submitted a

report in the month of May. The tentative launch target is the

later half of 1995.

The mission was advised that as of now no perspective plan exists

for future development of a country wide transmission network,

presumably because no policy decision has yet been taken on the

introduction of public service television.

Under a regional technical assistance project (RAS/89/007) which is

being implemented in association with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting

Union (ABU), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has

recruited a consultant to identify the essential technical elements

and initiate the drawing up of a master plan to ensure satisfactory

coverage of sound and TV broadcasting services in PNG. The expert

will undertake a 6 week survey, beginning in September/October

1992. His recommendations, could provide a technically sound

framework for building a transmission network at an appropriate time

in the future.

It was noted that the Post and Telecommunication Corporation (PTC)

has foreseen the need to set aside the required frequency spectrum

for television broadcasting. In the national frequency allocation

scheme, eight 7 MHz channels in (VHF) Band 3 and thirty six 8 MHz

channels in (UHF) Bands 4 and 5 have been specifically identified

for use by 3 television networks. Four channels in the frequency

29

range of 814 MHz - 854 MHz have been designated for

studio/transmitter links.

The PTC is a well established organisation with a staff of

approximately 3000, including 2000 engineers and technicians. The

Corporation has a training institute at Lae which was established

with the assistance of the ITU. Field units of the Corporation

exist throughout the country. The mission believes that in order to

obtain maximum advantage from these vast resources, the transmission

function of the television service, as and when it comes to be

established, should preferably be entrusted to PTC. This will be

consistent with the practice prevalent in Australia and several

other countries. The engineering resources of the television

organisation can then focus solely on programme production.

Viewing Audience

EMTV's estimate is that their TV transmissions are available to a

potential audience of half a million people, which represents

roughly 15% of the country's population. This figure is not based

on any systematic survey and could be in error.

Although it is generally known that video set penetration is wide

spread, no reliable estimate of actual numbers exists. It can be

assumed that whoever owns a video set has also acquired an antenna

for broadcast television reception. No license fee is charged for

TV reception. A TV set typically costs about US$500.00, which is

roughly equivalent to twice the monthly income of an average family.

30

All of the high schools have acquired TV receivers and VCR's. 10 or

15 of these located in highland regions are believed to be in

possession of satellite receivers, presumably employed for reception

of entertainment programmes.

Vast areas in Papua New Guinea remain without electricity. In these

areas it is necessary for individuals desiring access to a

television service, or recorded video software, to purchase a power

generator along with the TV receiver. A large number of people are

believed to have done so.

The mission is of the opinion that if a PNG satellite distribution

facility is established, it will be highly desirable to provide a

reasonable number of "direct reception setsv1 at community level,

located in public buildings such as schools or health centres, to

give television access to those who cannot afford a private set.

In the areas without electricity such sets could operate with solar

power. Moderately priced photovoltaic systems are available in the

international market.

31

Manpower and Training

The commercial station - EMTV - has a staff of about 60, including 7 expatriates in senior positions. Most of the locally recruited

staff have no previous television experience and were trained on the

job.

Engineering staff consist of an expatriate Chief Engineer and 5

locally recruited technicians. Minor repairs and general

maintenance are carried out by the available staff but major

repairs are undertaken by service engineers sent by the Sony

Corporation, once or twice a year.

Facilities exist within Papua New Guinea for basic technical and

vocational training as well as technical education at the tertiary

level. The Papua' New Guinea University of Technology, located at

Lae, offers degree courses in several disciplines, including

Engineering. Possibility also exists to enroll for part-time

'Technical Officers' Courses' in which students share time over a

period of five (5) years, between academic work and job attachment.

The Papua New Guinea Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) has a well

established training institute at Lae. This institute was set up

with ITU's assistance and is reported to have excellent facilities

for training in transmission technology.

32

The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) offers under-graduate and

post graduate degrees in a range of disciplines, including arts and

science. The faculty of Creative Arts in IJPNG offers certificate

and diploma programmes in visual arts which focus on basic knowledge

and functional use of video and audio systems. There is no degree

program in television or media. Coaching covers technical aspects

such as camera work, lighting, editing and sound recording, as well

as creative aspects such as scriptwriting and direction. The annual

output is typically twelve (12) certificate holders and eight (8)

diploma holders. It was considered possible that the diploma

programme would eventually evolve into a degree programme.

The overall conclusion of the mission was that a sufficient base of

educated manpower is available to support a public television

service. However, the television medium is relatively new in the

country and intensive professional training will be necessary. The

fullest possible advantage must therefore, be taken of the training

facilities which are available in the region.

Recognising the need and value of training in this highly

specialised area, the Board of Inquiry into Broadcasting and

Television has recommended the setting up of a National Institute

for Broadcast Training. Such an institute, if established, would be

an extremely valuable resource not only for Papua New Guinea but

also for the whole region.

33

Recornmenclations

1. The availability of free access to EMTV's unscheduled

transmission time for use by government and non-profit producers

could be better utilized by the government for information and

development awareness objectives. Some mechanism for bringing

together the numerous independent and government producers of

program material could be explored.

2. Aggregation of the various government video production units

(VPUs), to some degree, may stimulate more production of

development programs, and could provide one source of video

production for all government information needs. This may be the

mechanism for greater utilization of EMTV's off-air time.

3. Although relatively advanced in terms of video production

there still exists a pressing need for training in video

production, producing, directing and writing, particularly in the

public sector. PNG VPUs should generate more requests for

in-country video training courses available through the SPC

Regional Media Training Centre, Suva, Fi.ji, with support from

UNESCO.

4. If the government so wishes, a perspective plan for TV

transmission coverage could be developed in preparation for the

introduction of a government-run television service. An ITU expert

will be visiting PNG under an ongoing regional assistance project

(RAS/89/007) to initiate a master plan to ensure satisfactory

34

coverage of sound and TV broadcasting in Papua New Guinea. His

services may be fully utilized for developing a perspective

transmission plan for future guidance.

5. A suitable number of TVROs may be incorporated in the

proposed domestic satellite distribution network for direct

community level reception in areas where individual ownership of TV

receivers is unlikely.

6. Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Broadcasting

Including Television (CIBTV) could be used as a guideline for the

development of a legal framework regulating the television broadcast

industry.

7. If the Government decides to introduce a public television

service in the future, the transmission function of the future

government service could be entrusted to the Post and

Telecommunications Corporation in order to take advantage of its

large human resource and organizational base.

35

List of Contacts

John Taylor, EMTV .

Sir Alkan Tololo, Chairman National Broadcasting Commission.

John Waingut, NBC Director of Technical Services.

Mark Sisson Director Educational Television Unit

Craig Marshall Director Pacific View Productions

David Kariko Executive Manager Spectrum

Joseph Anyawu UPNG Media Arts Lecturer

36

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Country Background

The Solomon Islands is made up of an archipelago of six main

islands forming a double chain immediately to the east of Papua New

Guinea. The population, as of the 1986 census, totalled 295,796 and

is growing at a rate of 3.5%. The total land area of the chain is

27,560 square kilometers, most of which is covered with dense

tropical rain forest. The climate is uniformly hot and humid all

year round. 93.4% of the population is made up of Melanesians, with

significant minority populations of Polynesians (4%) and

Micronesians (1.4%). As many as 87 vernacular languages are spoken

and the official language is English; however, the most widespread

language of communication is Pidgin English.

The Solomon Islands was a colony of Britain until independence was

attained in 1978. Today a Westminister style parliamentary

democracy is firmly in place. The economy of the Solomon Islands is

almost wholly dependant on the export of agricultural and natural

resource products. Among these products are tuna, copra, cocoa,

palm oil and timber. The government is starting to place emphasis

on its tourism industry which is seen to be vastly underdeveloped.

Policy

Like other countries in the region the Solomon Islands Government

has made plans for the introduction of television in the country.

37

Video tape programmes are already a popular medium of'entertainment

and information, and the proliferation of video theatres in which

50-150 people watch popular overseas video tapes is an example of

the popularity of this medium. It is estimated that there are 3,000

to 6,000 video sets in Honiara.

The development of broadcast television has been included in the

Government's current five-year plan (1989-1993) and, in accordance

with Article XIV Information of its Manifesto, the Government will

undertake the following:

Phase 1 Study the introduction of Television and Video

Services to Solomon Islands.

Phase 2 Negotiation commences between the Government and

interested parties in the development of:

(a) FM Radio Station

(b) Television Network

(c) Video Services

Phase 3 The intention is to see that the policy statement is

implemented. In Phase 3 the implementation will

continue where possible, and will be reviewed for

possible policy adjustment and re-directions.

As a forerunner to this development the government hopes to develop

a National Video Centre (NVC) to begin the long process of building

up local programmes focusing on health education, vocational

38

training, agricultural information, cultural preservation, natural

disaster preparedness, and information on government activities and

policies. The Solomon Islands Department of Information, under the

Prime Minister's office, has submitted a proposal seeking technical

assistance and funding to support its efforts to develop the NVC.

The objectives of the NVC are to - * provide visual educational information to the people of

the Solomon Islands;

* help preserve the cultural heritage of the diverse

peoples of the Solomon Islands;

* increase awareness and understanding of urgent

development issues in order to improve living standards and the

quality of life.

* foster a sense of national identity, communal

solidarity and unity.

Assistance is required for the purchase and installation of video

production equipment, the redevelopment of the existing facilities

to properly house this equipment, and the purchase of a vehicle to

assist in the production of programmes.

The Government has approved that television be developed under the

auspices of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) - an independent statutory body established under the Broadcasting

39

Ordinance 1976 - No.15 of 1976.

The SIBC produces radio programmes in English and Pidgin,

transmitting a limited number of hours from Honiara, the capital,

Gizo and Santa Cruz. It derives revenue from advertisements which

are either spot announcements or sponsored programmes.

Part V, Chapter 24.(3) of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting

Ordinance states: "The Corporation shall broadcast or televise from

all stations under its control, or from such of them as the Minister

specifies, any matter the broadcasting of which is directed by the

Minister as being of National Interest. Such requests being

confirmed by the Minister in writing within twenty-four hours of

being made. )I

While SIBC has plans to produce and transmit its own programmes it

recognises that appropriate equipment, manpower and the necessary

training must be in place before a television service is introduced.

It plans to develop a video/television production unit which would

provide news, information, educational programmes, entertainment and

sports. At present no staff position exists for the proposed

television service. However, SIBC is confident that sound

technicians from the radio station could be the basis for the

proposed TV service. The station has emphasised that the training

of personnel in all aspects of television production is an essential

prerequisite to the introduction of TV in the country. The SIBC has

submitted a proposal to the Government for endorsement. It hopes to

develop a video/TV studio and library in the SIBC complex, and is

40

currently looking at external sources of aid for the' setting up of

simple editing facilities including cameras to achieve this

objective.

Programming

In July 1992, the Government granted a temporary licence to Solomon

Telekom to provide on air transmission of the Olympic Games on a

trial basis. In the course of the two-week experiment, SIBC, using

the video editing facilities of the Catholic Communication Centre,

produced a documentary programme of the 50th Anniversary of the

World War II Guadacanal campaign for transmission during the

experimental period. Solomon Telekom is to prepare a report on the

results of the experimental transmissions. To gauge public

response, and the types of programmes that might be envisaged in any

permanent arrangement in the future, a questionnaire was distributed

in Honiara.

SIBC has expressed the hope that a joint venture between the

Corporation, Solomon Telekom and possibly the Government, may bethe

outcome of the trial project with SIBC controlling programme content

and local production.

41

Television Background/Program Production

The Solomon Islands does not as yet have a permanent broadcast

television service. Only the most rudimentary video production

facilities are available at the present time. Radio is the primary

communications medium in the country, and is provided by the Solomon

Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC). There is still no FM radio

service but the MW and SW services cover 99% of the nation's

territory. SIBC is a statutory organization which is responsible

for providing its own revenue for operation through commercial

advertising. For the last three years the station has continued to

depend on government subsidy.

In 1989 the government commissioned a study on television. A copy

of this study was not available at the time of the mission.

According to Patterson Mae, General Manager of SIBC, this study

proposed the formation of a television joint venture which would

consist of Solomon Telekom, SIBC and the Prime Minister's

Information Office.

The July experimental transmissions of the Olympic Games were

undertaken primarily to measure signal strength in the Honiara area

and to provide data for a report which Solomon Telekom is preparing

for a government submission relating to the introduction of a

permanent service.

42

The Solomon Telekom proposal will recommend a subscription TV

service which would not initially include any provision for local

programming, although it is hoped that the Solomon Islands

Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) and other government and private

agencies would be able to provide 1/2 to 1 hr of local programming

at some stage. 4-5 hours of TVNZ programming would be received by

existing TVRO facilities at Solomon Telekom and then transmitted

initially to the Honiara/Tulagi/Guadacanal area. These areas

comprise 20% of the nation's population. Solomon Telekom envisages

the use of an encoded signal to be decoded in the home by a device

which would use a card validated system. The charge for the service

would be USS5.00 per month, and Telekom believes that the break even

point for this service would be 1000 subscribers. They estimate a

total of 3000 TV sets currently in Honiara.

In 1990 under the PACVIDEO Project, the SPC held a two-weex

in-country course on setting up video production facilities in the

Solomon Islands. This course was very successful and was largely

responsible for various government agencies agreeing to the concept

of a centralised video production facility to serve the needs of all

ministries.

As a result of the workshop there are plans for the Prime

Minister's Information Unit to set up a video production studio.

This facility is proposed to function as the provider of local

programming and news for television. It would appear that this

facility will come on line in 1993.

43

Production Facilities

The National Museum

At the present time there is only one video production facility with

the capacity to shoot footage and edit programmes, and this is

located at the National Museum. This facility consists of a low

band U-Matic camera/recorder rig, a cuts-only editing unit with Sony

VO-5850 VTRs, an RM-440 edit control unit, and Sony monitors. At

this time the portable recorder is faulty and no arrangements have

been made for its repair. The museum video unit has primarily been

used to document and preserve important traditional cultural events.

Little editing and post production has been carried out with this

equipment, but a sizeable library of important cultural material has

been stockpiled and is being stored in the museum’s climate

controlled storage facility.

MABO Project

There is an interdepartmental project called MABO, which is

designed to preserve traditional music, stories, custom ceremonies,

dance and theatre through videotape recording. MABO, which stands

for Museum/Archives/Broadcasting/Osaka University, is a joint

project of these institutions funded by the Japanese Government.

Under MABO a video cameraman from the museum is assisted by one of

the staff from the National Archives to video tape various elements

of cultural expression and traditional ways of life. At times an

audio technician accompanies this crew but is responsible only for

44

recording sound on audio tape for the SIBC archives. ' A s far as the

PACTEL mission could ascertain, there is no editing or

post-production component of this project. Japanese

volunteers, probably from Osaka University, are associated with the

Museum on this project.

Catholic Communications

The only other video production facility is located at the Catholic

Communications office. This facility consists of a radio production

studio and quasi video production facility. The video equipment

consists of a Panasonic WJ-MX12 vision mixer/SEG/audio mixer, a

Panasonic VHS camera and recorder, a Video 8 camcorder, 2xPanasonic

VCRs with backspace insert edit capacity. These two VCRs are

manipulated to make programmes in a very crude form of lleditingll

which consists of putting the record machine in llRECORD-PAUSE1l at an

in-point, then putting the player machine in llPLAY-PAUSE1l at an

in-point and then taking both machines out of llPAUSE1l at the same

time to perform an I1editl1 on the record machine. In this fashion

the Catholic Communications Centre has produced over 20 hours of

programme material on religious, social, educational and health

topics. This studio, using this system, is actually the primary

producer of video productions in the entire country. When SIBC was

commissioned to produce a documentary on the 50th anniversary of the

Guadacanal battle it had to hire this facility to do the production.

The documentary was broadcast during the two week television

experiment. There are three staff at this facility, all of whom are

45

nationals.

and its mandate is to produce religious education material.

The studio receives its funding from the Catholic Church

There are several other institutions and agencies that are keen to

acquire some form of video production capability including the

Solomon Islands Tourist Authority, the Ministry of Health and the

Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.

Transmission

Solomon Islands experience with television transmissions is limited

to two weeks' coverage of the Barcelona Olympics in July 1992. For

the event Television New Zealand (TVNZ) provided a low power

transmitter coupled with a TVRO. Signal availability was limited to

the capital Honiara.

The transmitter remained in place for some time after the Olympics

but was used only for ad hoc programme transmission, commemorating

the 50th anniversary of the Guadalcanal World War II Campaign.

A TV broadcast survey initiated in July 1992 by the Solomon Telekom

Company, the sole provider of telecommunication services, was

expected to conclude about two weeks after the mission. A

consultant, engaged to conduct the survey, indicated that the

proposed subscription service would target Honiara, Guadalcanal and

the island of Tulagi situated close to Guadalcanal. This will

probably require the installation of a medium/high power transmitter

46

at a high altitude site in or near Honiara, and a 'number of low

power transposers.

Providing countrywide coverage is considered to be an excessively

ambitious target, given the extensive spread of the islands and

rugged topography; the main islands are mostly mountainous and

covered with tropical rain forests. However, considering that about

90% of the population live in rural areas, it will be necessary,

sooner or later, to find a technologically and economically sound

solution for extension of transmission to relatively remote areas.

An appropriate solution will probably be the installation of a large

number of low power transmitters strategically located in centres of

significant population concentration. The main problem will be

linking with the originating centre. The existing telecommunication

infrastructure is indeed very basic and unable to support television

distribution. Satellite delivery to re-transmission sites may be

prohibitively expensive. In these circumstances, there may be no

practical option in the foreseeable future other than physical

transportation of pre-recorded programme tapes to rebroadcast

centres as they get established. This will of course, be limited by

the available means of transportation.

SIBC (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation) has apparently made

a proposal to the South Pacific Forum for a survey to determine the

feasibility of an FM sound broadcasting service. At present SIBC

depends heavily on shortwave broadcasting to reach the remote areas

(it was claimed that 99% population coverage has been achieved).

The corporation operates a network of 1 mediumwave and 2 shortwave

47

transmitters for the National Service. There are two additional

regional AM stations at Gizo in the Western province and Lata in the

Temotu province.

As propagation considerations are by and large similar for FM sound

broadcasting and television, it is recommended that the FM

feasibility survey requested of the FORUM also includes television

broadcasting. Very significant advantages may result from

Co-locating FM and TV transmitters. In any case, a technically

valid coverage plan would provide valuable guidance for future

development of a television network in a staged and orderly manner.

Such a plan will also enable the Spectrum Management Directorate to

set aside suitable frequency assignments for future TV operations.

Discussions with Director of Spectrum Management indicated that

external assistance might be needed for planning of the television

spectrum. Such assistance could be provided by the International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) or the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union

(ABU), if requested. A two week mission will probably suffice.

Viewing Audience

As an on-air television service existed only for the duration of the

1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, there is no established base of

television viewers. However, a significant number of video sets

(each set consisting of a VHS cassette deck and a monitor) exist in

Honiara. The precise number is unknown, but one estimate put it at

around 3,000. These sets are useable for reception of on-air

40

signals with the addition of a relatively inexpen'sive antenna.

However, if television is introduced initially as an encrypted

service, it will be necessary to add a decoder.

The current estimate of the Solomon Telekom Company is that the

break-even point for a subscription service depending wholly on

rebroadcast of international programming, will be achieved with a

subscriber base of approximately 1000, each paying a charge of US$5

per month.

The reception of satellite signals is not illegal but there is

hardly any penetration of satellite receivers. Apparently a few

satellite receivers, bought by individuals to view Australian

broadcasts, became unuseable when the broadcasts were transferred to

a different satellite beam which does not illuminate the Solomon

Islands.

Mains power supply is largely unavailable in rural areas. It will

therefore be desirable to establish a suitable number of community

viewing posts with dedicated power sources, if and when a free to

air service is established. Some experience exists in this area

with eight (8) video sets previously provided by the World Health

Organisation (WHO) for closed circuit community use in the

provinces.

49

Manpower an8 Training

No local facility exists for professional education or training

except inhouse training at the Solomons Telekom Company. The two

institutions which currently provide technical training and higher

level education to candidates sponsored by the Government of the

Solomon Islands, are the Papua New Guinea University of Technology

and the Telecommunications Training Centre (TTC) in Suva, Fiji.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC), by its own

admission, does not have adequately trained staff and finds it

difficult to maintain the desired standards of service. A very

basic video facility was set up at SIBC with the help of a Japanese

volunteer, to gain initial experience with the television medium.

But this experiment was of little value as the only equipment now

available is a Hi8 camera.

A number of candidates nominated by the Government of the Solomon

Islands have participated in regional and in-country courses

organised by SPC and UNESCO under the PACVIDEO project. These

courses have covered operational as well as creative aspects of

video and television production. However, training is a long lead

time activity and further concentratedtraining will be necessary to

meet the needs of a national television service.

50

Recommendations

1. If the Solomon Islands Government is to pursue the establishment

of television broadcasting, a master plan for TV signal coverage

should be undertaken. This could well be undertaken in conjunction

with the previously requested FM radio feasibility study because of

the similarity of considerations involved.

2. The Solomon Islands government may wish to consider forming a

comprehensive policy regarding the establishment of a television

service as a matter of urgency.

3. If the proposed video production studio in the Prime Minister's

Information Unit is to be developed as the main provider of programs

with local content for TV broadcasts standards of production from

the outset should be suitable for broadcasting use.

4. At present there only a small number of people have attended

short term practical courses in video and television. This is a

serious situation which will impact heavily on the success of the

proposed television service. Preparatory to the introduction of

television, a concerted effort to develop a long range plan for the

training of TV personnel would be most advisable.

51

Contact List

Patterson Mae,. Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation

Peter Johnson, Solomon Telekom

Ralph Alexander Solomon Telekom

Daniel Catholic Communications

William Haomai Prime Minister's Office of Information

Thomas Kivo Information Officer

George Tora Chief Engineer SIBC

John Keppo Cultural Education Officer SI National Museum

52

Country Background

Vanuatu, known as the New Herbrides before its independence on 30

July, 1980, is a double chain of 80 islands of which 67 were

inhabited in 1989. The islands are.located between 12 and 21

degrees S latitude and 166 and 171 E longitude. The islands were

jointly administered by France and Britain as a condominium from

1906 until independence.

The new name Vanuatu, meaning Our Land, was given to the group by

the Vanuaaku Party (formerly the New Herbrides National Party) which

formed the government on independence.

The new state has a President and is a member of the Commonwealth of

Nations and of the French cultural organisation, the Association de

Co-operation Culturelle et Technique. The capital, Port Vila, is

located on the island of Efate near the centre of the group.

The mid-year 1986 estimate gave the population as 140,154 - an increase of 28,903 over the total of 111,251 calculated in the

January 1979 census.

The urban census of January 1986, the first conducted since

Independence, showed that growth was more rapid in Port Vila than

the national average. The capital showed an average growth per

annum of 4.2 per cent from 1979 to 1986. Provisional figures

53

released by the government Statistics Office give the total

population in May 1989 as 142,944.

The Vatu is the national currency which came into circulation in

March 1982.

The people of Vanuatu are Melanesian and speak more than 100

languages, with Bislama (pidgin) the lingua franca. They are known

as Ni-Vanuatu.

Until fairly recently the only movement of Ni-Vanuatu in and out of

the country was to work in the nearby French territory of New

Caledonia but an increasing number of students are entering the

University of the South Pacific in Fiji and French universities.

However, the downturn in the New Caledonian nickel industry has led

to many Ni-Vanuatu returning to the country.

According to the 1979 census, 90,713 persons (81.5 per cent)

declared themselves to be Christians and 8460 (7.6 per cent) to be

adherents of Custom religion with the remainder of 'no religion' or

unspecified.

About 80 per cent of the people live in rural communities. Major

activity for rural dwellers is traditional subsistence agriculture

while those living in towns have greater job opportunities.

The labour force according to the 1979 census totalled 51,130

persons (28,953 males and 22,177 females) most of whom were engaged

54

in the primary industry sector. The 1986 urban survey revealed 8242

economically active people in the two urban areas, Port Vila and

Luganville, the majority (3464) engaged in services. There were

1580 in trade, restaurants and hotels and 850 in transport and

communication.

The President of the Republic is elected by secret ballot by an

electoral college of Parliament and the Presidents of the

Regional Councils. The term of office is for five years and is

open to any indigenous Vanuatu citizen qualified to be elected to

Parliament. Executive power is vested in the Prime Minister and the

Council of Ministers.

The Constitution provides for a National Council of Chiefs composed

of custom chiefs elected by their peers sitting in District Councils

of Chiefs. The National Council which meets at least once a year

has its own president and is responsible for matters relating to

custom and tradition, and makes recommendations for the preservation

and promotion of Ni-Vanuatu culture and languages.

Although there is no mention of municipal councils in the

Constitution, Vila and Luganville (Espiritu Santo) each have a

municipal council headed by a mayor. The Public Service Commission

controls the Public Service and appointments to it.

In 1984 there were 140 English-medium primary schools with 12,671

pupils and 104 French-medium primary schools with 10,678 pupils.

There were ten secondary schools, seven of them with English as the

55

medium with 1074 pupils and three French medium secondary schools

with 955 pupils. Secondary school teachers are trained abroad with

a considerable imbalance in the number of Anglophone teachers

compared to Francophone.

Other tertiary opportunities exist at the nursing school (run by the

Ministry of Health), the Tagabe Agricultural College (under the

Ministry of Agriculture) and at the University of the South Pacific

which maintains an extension centre in Port Vila.

Technical education and commercial training, in addition to the

Vanuatu Technical Institute, is provided by the Honiara Technical

Institute in the Solomon Islands, the Fiji Institute of Technology

and through apprentice training in Australia and New Zealand.

Overseas telephone links are handled through Vanitel (Vanuatu

International Telecommunications). Once a 50/50 partnership

between Cable and Wireless (UK) Ltd and Cables et Radio (France),

Vanitel in July 1987 became a three-way arrangement, with the

Vanuatu Government taking a one-third share. Vanitel operates an

Intelsat standard B earth station.

The Meteorological Department provides weather information from six

reporting stations and transmits to Fiji as part of the Western

Pacific meteorological network.

Radio Vanuatu broadcasts seven days a week and offers programmes in

Bislama (Vanuatu pidgin), English and French.

56

A weekly newspaper, Vanuatu Weekly/Hebdomadaire is published by the

Office of Information and Public Relations. It is tri-lingual with

content in French, English and Bislama. A tourist-oriented

publication, What to do in Vanuatu, is produced by the tourism

industry.

TELEVISION

BackgrounU:

An experimental television service commenced, somewhat unexpectedly,

in July 1992. The service, presently confined to Port Vila and

surrounding areas, offers a daily four-hour transmission compiled

from pre-recorded French and English language programme material

supplied by RFO (Societe Nationale de Radio-Television Francaise

D'Outre-Mer) and TVNZ (Television New Zealand). There is no local

input at present.

Early in 1992, the Department of Media Services, which oversees the

electronic as well as print media, was directed to carry out a

feasibility study for the introduction of a television service by

the end of the year. This directive had its origin in the 1991

election manifesto of a political party (UNP) which is now the major

partner in the coalition government; the manifesto had promised a

television service if the party came to power.

The study, hampered by a series of cyclones which occurred between

January and March, had barely begun when the Government, took an

57

independent initiative to negotiate an assistance arrangement with

the government of France. This was apparently in response to

popular demand for access to television coverage of the Summer

Olympics in Barcelona.

Following the visit of a consultant working for RFO in New

Caledonia, an inter-governmental agreement was concluded and signed.

This provided for the supply and commissioning of USs1.6 million

worth of equipment in a phased manner. Buildings and utilities were

provided by the government of Vanuatu.

The initial batch of equipment arrived and was installed by RFO in

the premises of VANITEL, the international telecommunications

carrier, with the exception of the 50 watt transmitter which was

located at an elevated site belonging to Telecom Vanuatu, the

domestic telecommunication carrier. The link between the two sites

was provided by a low power VHF transmitter.

The immediate target was to broadcast the Olympic coverage. This

required the signal to be provided by Television New Zealand (TVNZ)

who apparently had acquired the coverage rights applicable to

Vanuatu. The TVNZ coverage normally available on the 180" Intelsat

POR satellite, had to be additionally made available on the 174"

satellite to which the VANITEL earth station was pointed. The

agreement concluded with TVNZ therefore involved the payment of

uplink charges in addition to the rights fee. Inclusive of the

downlink charges paid to VANITEL, the 2 weeks of Olympic coverage

reportedly cost the Vanuatu government a sum of US$50,000. The 13

metre VANITEL earth station had to be equipped with additional

terminal equipment to attain TV capability.

In order to create an audience, the Department of Media Services was

mandated to procure 1000 VHF receiving antennas to be sold to

individuals already in possession of video sets, either directly or

through retailers. These arrangements finally fell in place and

Vanuatu had its first taste of broadcast television when the 1992

Olympics began.

After the end of the Olympics, the service continued, 4 hours a day,

with an offering of pre-recorded French and English language

programmes, the former provided free of cost by RFO and the latter,

at cost, by TVNZ. As TVNZ operates on a commercial basis, it was

obliged to charge for the programme material, broadcast rights, and

freight charges for programmes tapes.

The service has no live component, nor any local content. Because

of the constitutional obligation to broadcast bilingually, the

French and English components have to be more or less equally

balanced. This necessitates that programming be obtained from at

least two different sources (presently France and New Zealand) until

a local production capability is established.

Thus at the time of the PACTEL survey, Vanuatu had an operating TV

service confined to Port Vila and its environs, providing a mix of

pre-recorded French and English language programmes. The service,

59

still designated 'experimental' was operated by' a lone RFO

consultant and was wholly dependent on his services. Although the

operation in principle is under the Department of Media Services, no

dedicated staff were assigned to the operation.

There has apparently been some discussion on future direction but no

concrete plan has been formulated. Most people contacted during the

mission expressed strong concern for a significant local input in

programming, but no specific project profile identifying the

expenditure that this will entail and the possible sources of

funding to support production, has yet been prepared.

As a first step, action has been initiated to bring television

broadcasting within a legal framework. A Bill for a 'Broadcasting

and Television Act' was drafted with the assistance of a foreign

consultant and introduced in Parliament. The Bill envisages the

establishment of a Corporation to provide tel.evision and sound

broadcasting services within the country. A provision also exists

for the issue of licenses by the concerned Minister for the

establishment of private broadcasting stations. At the time of the

survey, the Bill was in the process of being modified to rectify a

constitutional infirmity before submission to the President. It was

generally believed that the Act would be adopted and the proposed

Corporation would come into existence in January 1993.

Cable Television does not exist in Vanuatu. However, it was

considered likely that a few satellite receivers (probably less than

a dozen) exist in tourist resorts with signal distribution limited

60

in each case to housing units within a single ,development. The

spread of satellite receivers and cable distribution appears to have

been deterred by uncertainty about the regulatory process; there is

no regulation in force either allowing or disallowing satellite

reception and cable distribution.

Before the advent of the experimental TV service, Vanuatu’s only

exposure to the visual electronic media has been through home video

which is quite popular in urban areas. However, the country has a

well established radio service. Initially set up in 1961 as Radio

Vila - joint enterprise of the British and French Information Services - Radio Vanuatu today operates a national service and is

on the verge of launching a commercial service. The national

service provides 16 hours of programming (70% of which is in

Bislama), produced in a complex of three studios. The transmission

consists of two shortwave transmitters operating on a day time and

a night time frequency (7260 KHz and 3945 KHz respectively) as well

as a medium wave transmitter (1125 KHz) at Port Vila, and a 10 watt

FM transmitter (98 MHz) at Luganville on Espiritu Santo Island. The

network will be further developed by acquiring a new HF transmitter

capable of operating on six different frequencies, replacing the

existing medium wave transmitter, reconditioning the two existing

shortwave transmitters, and providing a medium wave transmitter

(1179 KHz) at Luganville. It is also planned to acquire a new FM

transmitter to extend the proposed commercial service to Santo. The

service will soon commence from an existing 250 watt FM transmitter

in Port Vila.

61

Policy

A Bill to establish a Broadcasting and Television Act (yet to be

enacted because of a technicality, at the time this report was being

compiled) provides for the control of television and sound

broadcasting in Vanuatu.

The Bill also provides for the establishment of a Corporation to be

called the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporationtt to

provide television and sound broadcasting services within Vanuatu.

It also makes provision for the issue of licences for the

establishment of private broadcasting stations in Vanuatu.

The proposed Corporation shall consist of not less than five

members and not more than seven appointed by the Prime Minister on

the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. The members are

expected to be drawn from experienced or qualified persons in the

field of broadcasting, television, engineeri,ng especially in

telecommunications, electronics or computer technology as well as

journalism, public relations, communications, administration,

finance, law and other related subjects.

The functions of the Corporation are as follows -

* to provide television and sound broadcasting services

within Vanuatu for disseminating information,education and

entertainment;

62

* to secure proper standards of television and sound

broadcasting with regard to both programme content and

technical performance of broadcasts;

* to exercise licensing and regulatory functions in

respect of the sale and use of television receivers and

broadcasting receiving apparatus;

* to act internationally as the national authority or

representative of Vanuatu in respect of matters relating to

broadcasting;

*

broadcasting;

to advise the Minister in respect of matters relating to

* to exercise and perform such functions and duties in

relation to broadcasting as are conferred or imposed under this

Act.

It is also the duty of the Corporation -

To provide adequate and comprehensive programmes with a

view to serving the best interests of the public.

To develop the television and sound broadcasting services to

the best advantage and interest of the country subject to

such directions as the Minister may from time to time lay down.

63

To ensure that nothing is included in the programmes

broadcast by the Corporation which :

* offends against good taste or decency; or

* is likely to incite crime or lead to disorder; or

* offends any racial group or may promote ill

will between different races or different groups of

people;

* offends the followers of any religious faith or

order; or

* may outrage public feelings in general; and

* that a sufficient amount of time is given to

news, news features and current affairs and to

ensure that all news, in whatever form, is presented

with due accuracy and impartiality and with due

regard to the public interest.

Program Production

Authority for the content of television in Vanuatu currently rests

with the Prime Minister's Department of Media Services, which also

oversees the operations of Radio Vanuatu and the weekly government

newspaper, Vanuatu Weekly. The director of Media Services, Godwin

Ligo, outlined the following objectives for television under his

department's control:

1. Television must serve as a means of education,

information and entertainment.

64

2. It must not destroy the cultural and religious patterns

in the country.

3. The government would like to see locally produced

cultural, educational and development programmes.

4. The service must have a studio, trained local

personnel and the capability to produce programs in Vanuatu.

The Department of Media Services (DMS) has been given the task of

commencing at least one hour of local programme production by

January 1993. The Television Vanuatu service is expected to be

bilingual, with programmes in English and French shared equally.

At present all programming is brought into the country on tape from

overseas on a 50% French 50% English basis. French programming is

provided by RFO free of charge, and the English programming is

purchased from TVNZ at a cost of VT1.7 million (USD$160,000), which

covers programmes from the end of the July 1992 Olympics up to the

1st October.

Under the French aid package there is provision for a 7.3 meter

satellite reception dish with dual channel receive capability to

handle the simultaneous reception of English and French language

programmes. The same package provides for parallel tape recording

and editing facilities for satellite delivered programmes. There is

no provision for local programme production in this aid package,

only reception and playback,

65

There is a desire to begin producing local programmes as soon as

possible and the DMS has budgeted to hire eight (8) new staff for

television, butthere is no building space definitely allocated for

a television production facility. As stated above there are two

possible locations under consideration.

There is a very pressing need for matters relating to equipment and

building facilities to be concluded so that the process of creating

some capacity to produce local programmes can get underway.

Another pressing problem is the lack of people in Vanuatu with

training in television. The PACTEL mission spoke to only one

person who had a small amount of training in video production, and

that person's experience was almost entirely with consumer grade VHS

equipment. This will be a particularly urgent matter for action as

the current expectations for local programming are already fast

approaching. The needs for training will be discussed below from a

regional point of view, as all countries visited under

PACTEL-MELANESIA have extensive needs for television training.

The PACTEL mission made efforts to find out how video programs were

being used for development and education extension to rural areas.

Like other Melanesian countries VCRs are spreading to un-electrified

rural areas through the use of power generators. No one the

mission talked to could give an example of video programmes being

used for rural education.

66

Independent Production

Vanuatu has no real capacity to produce the type of programmes

required for television at the present time. There are some very

clever home video producers who lledittl programmes using the manual

technique described in the Solomon Islands country report, but this

cannot be considered adequate for broadcast television. There is

only one editing system in the country and it belongs to the

National Cultural Centre. This system is standard VHS which is not

considered suitable for television programme production.

Under the above conditions, a former agriculture officer, Sandy

Lawson has produced two programmes which were broadcast on

Television Vanuatu; these were Melanesian Cup Soccer and

Independence Day. Apparently the government was happy with these

productions. The Melanesian Cup Soccer series consisted of 6 x

90min matches shot on three independent Hi8 consumer camcorders and

manually edited together on two home VCRs. The total cost of this

production paid by government was US$ll,OOO.OO. The other

production, Independence Day, was shot documentary style on Hi8 and

manually edited.

There is another private producer, Mark Lowen, who does very simple

video production work on a small scale. Lowen intends to make an

investment in a full S-VHS editing suite if he generates enough work

to make it viable.

It is laudable that this kind of manual post-production is going on

but it should not be entertained as a way to produce programmes for

67

television. The technique does not provide enough accuracy, it

doesn't allow for proper sound mixing, the process is time consuming

and does not allow for re-editing easily.

Under the French aid package two cuts-only edit suites will be

installed for Television Vanuatu, and these are primarily for the

compiling of French and English language programmes received by the

dual channel parabola receiver system. These could conceivably be

used to edit basic programmes, however they will be heavily used for

their intended function.

Transmission

In accordance with the current inter-governmental agreement, RFO has

undertaken to supply altogether USS1.6 million worth of equipment.

In the initial phase, transmission equipment valued at USs0.4

million has been provided and installed at two sites: the studio

equipment in the premises of VANITEL - the international telecom carrier and the transmitter at a facility owned by Telecom Vanuatu

- the domestic carrier. The VANITEL premises were chosen largely

because of its proximity to the 13 metre VANITEL satellite antenna

which was used to receive the coverage of the Summer Olympics.

The studio equipment is basically configured to playback the

pre-recorded programme material supplied by RFO (in the Betacam SP

format) and TVNZ (in the SVHS format).

The following is a list of the main equipment currently in

operation:

68

3 Sony Betacam SP (PVW-28OOP) recorders.

2 Panasonic SVHS (NV-FS100) recorders, loaned by Television

New Zealand.

Tascam (122 MK II) audio recorder.

Girardin (CM85) audio mixer.

ONYX S 320, PC controlled routing switcher.

Time base corrector (MPV-1000).

FOR-A (VTW-240P) video typewriter.

A number of Sony monitors.

Linkage to the transmitter site at 'Water Tanks' is provided by a

(l+l) 10 watt channel 11 STL (E VHF 10s). The broadcast

transmitter is a Thomson LGT product with a base power output of 50

watts, operating on channel 8 (195-202 MHz). The transmitter is

built in fully redundant 1+1 configuration, and feeds into a

turnstile antenna mounted on a 22 metre tubular support. The

transmission standard is 625/PAL.

It was reported that a technician of TDF (Telediffusion de France)

carried out a reception survey and found the signal to be reasonably

strong in the entire Port Vila area, with only a few pockets of poor

reception. There is a proposal to raise the antenna height to 45

metres but this may be traded off with the installation of a

translator to cover the shaded area behind the hill on which the

present transmitter site is situated. The Turnstile transmitting

antenna will in due course be replaced by a new one with more

omnidirectional radiation characteristics.

69

The mission was told that the government has ordered the shifting of

the setup to a location away from the VANITEL premises. The

locations under consideration are the Radio Vanuatu complex and a

site in the vicinity of the existing transmitting station. The

former is preferred by the Department of Media Services because of

the management convenience it will provide. On the other hand the

Radio Vanuatu location will have the disadvantage of limiting the

scope for future expansion. Irrespective of which site is chosen,

an interruption of at least a week in the ongoing service will be

inevitable when the shifting is effected. The reinstallation of

equipment will necessitate further expenditure.

The next phase of French assistance, to be provided in the period

January-June 1993, will aim to:

(i) create an independent means to receive satellite

feeds;

(ii) provide a facility for compiling satellite feeds;

(iii) enable simple continuity recordings to be made

locally;

(iv) extend coverage to Luganville municipality on Espiritu

Santo island; the concept being delayed play back of programme

tapes, one day after these have been shown in Port Vila.

The equipment to be provided in this phase will mainly consist of:

- A 7.3 metre steerable satellite antenna with a dual TV

receiver;

70

- Betacam SP recorders with associated editors to'create 2

editing suites for compilation of satellite feeds;

- A video camera for a presentation suite;

- A low power transmitter for extending coverage to Espiritu

Santo island;

- Equipment for playback of programme tapes at Luganville.

The French grant is limited only to supply of equipment and expert

help; building space and utilities are the responsibility of Vanuatu

government.

In addition to the above, the Department of Media Services is

exploring replacement of the semi-professional SVHS playback

equipment by fully professional equipment. Indications were that

the British Embassy might help in this respect.

With the supply and commissioning of this additional equipment, the

service will acquire a greater flexibility, particularly as the

station will then be able to avail of RFO's 10 hours-a-day programme

service beamed from the 180' Intelsat POR satellite to French

Polynesia.

The existing setup provides a useable signal only in the region of

Port Vila and its environs. Estimates of population in Port Vila

ranged from 12,000 to 16,000. The total population of the country

is 142,000. Thus, even on most optimistic estimation, coverage is

71

limited to a maximum of 12%. With the proposed extension of the

service to Santo, the figure will probably increase to about 15%.

The arrangement which is being pursued for extending coverage to

Santo will tend to be unsuitable when topical elements are

introduced in programming at a future point in time. At that time

it may become necessary to explore the use of the microwave system

operated by Telecom Vanuatu. A 34 M bit/s telecom route already

extends from Port Vila to Luganville in Santo, with repeaters at

Mele Lama in Efate, Manga Lasi in Emae, Cap Foreland in EPI, Pic

Minei in Ambrym, and Lakotoro in Malekula. No plan exists at

present for the use of this route for television purposes. The

mission was informed that the available capacity is fully used for

telecommunication services. However, it may be possible that with

some additional engineering, the protection circuit of the route if

free of traffic, could be used, on a pre-emptiable basis, for

television distribution. In any event, given the required funding

the route can be expanded with an extra radio bearer to accommodate

television traffic.

Vanuatu is an archipelago of over 80 coral and volcanic islands with

a total land area of 11,880 sq km spread over 680,000 sq km of

ocean. Providing countrywide coverage is evidently a formidable

proposition. A pragmatic plan would be to start with areas of high

population density (provincial headquarters, for example)

progressing eventually to relatively less populated regions.

The main impediments to extension of coverage will be:

72

(il Lack of a TV capable telecommunications

infrastructure for transportation of the programme signal to

remote islands for rebroadcast purposes. This will necessitate

tape distribution on an extensive scale to transmission sites.

(ii) Limited electrification in areas outside of Port Vila atd

Luganville, which will inhibit reception of the service;

(iii) Rugged terrain which will necessitate a large network of

transmitters and translator to be established. A positive

factor is that habitations are mostly along the island coasts

which are relatively easier to serve.

(iv) The need to provide sturdy supporting structures for

transmission antennas at locations which are prone to cyclonic

damage.

Although the Government has at present no plans to extend coverage

to centres other than Port Vila and Luganville, it will be desirable

to develop a perspective plan to provide a framework for future

expansion as resources allow. This is best done by securing the

assistance of an international organisation, such as the ITU. An

expert would require a period of two to three months to develop a

viable plan, offering perhaps more than one option.

In the meantime it is advisable that the new telecommunication trunk

routes developed by Telecom Vanuatu are designed from the start to

accommodate television distribution. The money spent will be good

73

investment for the future growth of TV. However, 'since Telecom

Vanuatu is a purely commercial operation, the incremental cost of

providing TV capability will presumably need to be met by the

government.

The ideal solution in a situation like that of Vanuatu would be the

use of a satellite channel for programme distribution, with an

additional element of direct broadcasting to community reception

sets. But this is clearly far too expensive in the present

circumstances (a captive lease will cost over üS$i million per

year).

The regulatory and spectrum management functions are currently in

the hands of Telecom Vanuatu, the domestic carrier. This is an

unusual arrangement considering that Telecom Vanuatu is strictly a

commercial company, jointly owned by the Government of Vanuatu and

VANITEL - the international carrier. VANITEL itself is a

partnership company of the Government of Vanuatu, Cable and

Wireless, and France Cable Radio.

Telecom Vanuatu does not seem to have any in-house expertise for

planning frequency assignments in the television spectrum.

Assistance is obtained, when necessary, from technical consultants

based in New Caledonia. Eventually it will be desirable for the

Government to establish a regulatory body within its own framework,

independent of an operating agency. This will ensure that the

regulatory process, objectively accommodates the needs of all

radiocommunication services.

74

Viewing Audience

Television coverage is presently limited to Port Vila and its

surroundings. The area is estimated to contain a resident

population of around 16,000. This represents about 12% of

Vanuatu's population.

Within this area there is a significant penetration of TV sets.

This is evident from the fact that the 1000 antennas procured by the

Department of Media Services when broadcast television was initally

introduced, were quickly sold out.

It was understood that a significant number of available video sets

have not yet been converted for TV reception. This is probably

because an antenna, priced at approximately US$90, is rather

expensive. A TV set, inclusive of a VCR deck, costs approximately

US$1900, which is roughly equivalent to three times the monthly

earning of a middle level government employee. In unelectrified

areas, an additional investment of approximately US$llOO is

necessary for a power generator.

Despite relatively high costs, privately owned video sets are known

to exist even in remote villages. Local video stores provide

programme material at reasonable cost. However, it is not likely

that a substantial base of receivers will be available in the remote

areas if and when a broadcast service is extended to those areas.

75

Apparently consideration has been given to the creation of

community video posts, each post to be equipped with a VCR deck, a

receiver, and a power generator. Such posts, if they are created,

will only need to be provided with an antenna to be able to receive

the on-air signal as and when it becomes available.

It is recommended that investment profiles for development of

television service include, from the start, the cost of providing a

suitable number of community viewing facilities.

Manpower and Training

The current TV operation is exclusively in the hands of the RFO

consultant temporarily based in Port Vila. No local staff

is attached to the operation. The Department of Media Services has

initiated the process of recruiting a staff of eight ( 8 ) , including

two (2) who will be responsible for playing back tapes at the

Luganville centre when it is established. A Melanesian technician,

currently working in Wallis, who has received advanced level

training in France will be visiting Port Vila in December 1992 to

impart basic training to local staff.

No facility exists locally forthe television production training of

personnel. The mission only became aware of two officers within the

Government establishment who had received any formal training in

video techniques, both at the PACVIDEO centre of the South Pacific

Commission. One of them who is presently with the National Cultural

76

Centre, has also received a year’s training at an Australian

institution in Melbourne.

Two technicians working for Radio Vanuatu were trained at the

Telecommunication Training College (TTC) in Suva, and a third at the

training facility of Solomons Telekom Company in Honiara.

Urgent arrangements are needed to train core staff comprising a

sufficient number of technical and operating personnel, preferably

with multiple skills. Assuming that the staff recruited will

possess a general educational background, an intensive training

programme of 3 to 4 months will be necessary for operations

personnels. A longer programme of up to 12 months will be necessary

for maintenance technicians.

Another urgent area of training, if a local news bulletin were to be

introduced, is TV journalism and news production.

Apart from the organised training facilities available within the

region (Papua New Guinea, Fiji, SPC, AIBD) , a possible training

resource is the commercial TV station, EMTV, in Papua New Guinea.

It was understood that EMTV has offered a limited number of

apprenticeships (up to 12). This mode of training, however, is

subject to the acceptance and approval by EMTV.

In the longer term it will be desirable to employ managers with

higher level university education to head the production and

engineering departments. Plans for further development, including

77

the incorporation of local content in programming even to a very

limited extent, need to take this requirement into consideration.

Recommenaations

1. Currently, responsibility for TV broadcasting ser rices is ver!

vague. A proper line of control needs to be urgently established,

pending the implementation of proposed TV broadcasting legislation.

2.

as a matter of urgency.

Core staff to support current operations need to be recruited

3. In selecting a permanent site for the TV operations now being

conducted from VANITEL building, the requirements for future growth

and expansion of full service television station facilities should

not be overlooked.

4. Recognizing the Republic of Vanuatu’s desire to produce local

programmes on cultural and educational topics, a phased plan to

achieve these aims, taking into consideration expenditures involved

and sources of revenue available, is needed.

5. Choice of equipment required for such a plan can take into

account economic realities, and need not be state of the art. A

commitment to high cost broadcast tape formats may not be

sustainable in the long term.

78

6. Future development of a country-wide microwave system could be

designed from the start to accommodate television transmission.

7. Assistance could be sought from an international organization

such as ITU to develop a signal coverage plan to provide a framework

for future growth.

Contact List

Godwin Ligo Director Media Services

Kevin Page Principal Engineer Media Services

Claude Castelly RFO seconded to Television Vanuatu

Henri Ramirez General Manager Vanitel

Jacob National Cultural Centre

Sandy Lawson Independent Producer

Mark Lowen Independent Producer

Wolfgang Holler PIBA

79

FIJI

Country Backgrounâ

Fiji is made up of about 332 islands which vary in size from 10,000

square kilometres to tiny islets. These islands, of which one third

are inhabited, are spread over thousands of square kilometres of

ocean in the heart of the South Pacific.

Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone, claimed in 1977 in accordance with

the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, covers 1.3 million

square kilometres whilst the total land area is 18,272 square

kilometres.

Fiji lies just west of the International Dateline between

longitudes 175 deg and 177 deg W and latitudes 15 deg and 22 deg S

and is centrally located in the region.

Fiji has become the crossroads of air and shipping services between

North America, Australia and New Zealand. Travellers and

international vessels enter the country via international airports

at Nadi or Nausori or through the ports of Lautoka and Suva.

Fiji, declared a republic in October 1987, has accepted many

nationalities to its shores and today is rich in diverse cultural

backgrounds. Alongside indigenous Fijians, Indians, Europeans, and

Chinese, many South Pacific islanders have found a home in Fiji.

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According to Fijian legend, the great chief Lutunasobasoba led his

people across the seas to the new land of Fiji. Here the

Melanesians and the Polynesians mixed to create a highly developed

society long before the arrival of the Europeans.

The first European contacts with the Fiji group were accidental ,

occurring when the early navigators were on their way elsewhere.

The first of these contacts was made in 1643 by the Dutch explorer,

Abel Tasman and English navigators including Captain James Cook who

sailed through in 1774 and made further explorations in the 18th

century. Major credit for the recording of the islands goes to

Captain William Bligh who sailed through the group after the mutiny

on the Bounty in 1789.

The first Europeans to land and live among the Fijians were

ship-wrecked sailors or runaway convicts from Australian penal

settlements. Sandalwood traders and missionaries came by the

mid-19th century.

Fiji's population has more than trebled over the last fifty years,

rising from 198,000 in 1936 to over 715,000 in 1986. This was an

increase of 127,307 over the 1976 population, giving an average

annual population growth rate of 2 per cent over the ten years.

This figure represents a slight reduction from the 2.1 per cent

recorded between the 1966 and 1976 censuses. The population

declined in 1987 for the first time in fifty years. The unusually

high level of emigration following two military coups in that year

81

was largely responsible. Positive growth resumed in 1988 and the

total population in 1991 is estimated at 733,000.

Ethnic Fijians (48.4 per cent) and Indians (46.4 per cent) make up

94.8 per cent of the total population. The remaining 5.2 per cent

comprises Europeans, Chinese and other Pacific islanders. Since 40

per cent of the population is under 15, the age structure is young

and the dependency ratio is relatively high at 70.3 per cent. Based

on different assumptions relating to fertility, mortality and

migration, the Bureau of Statistics high variant projection gives a

population of 930,000 by the year 2001.

Most Fijians still live in rural areas, whereas Indians and other

ethnic groups tend to concentrate in and around the urban centres.

This concentration in the urban centres has historical links with

the development of the sugar cane and banana industries. In later

years Fijian movement towards the towns became evident resulting in

a gradual increase in the ratio of Fijians settling in the urban

centres.

The future economic growth of the country lies in exporting

provided the current revival in private investment is maintained.

The 1990 GDP growth was estimated at 4.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent

for 1991. Sugar production in 1990 was estimated at 408,200 tonnes

from 4.0 million tonnes of raw cane. Tourist arrivals in 1990 stood

at 273,688 - an increase of about 9.2 per cent over the 1989 figure of 250,565. Tourism earnings up to September in 1990 were $234.9

million.

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At the end of January 1991, the annual average rate of inflation

stood at 8.2 per cent compared with 6.1 per cent at the end of 1989.

The overall balance of payments position in 1990 was expected to

show a surplus of $42.3 million compared with a deficit of $17.8

million in 1989. Fiji's total imports for 1990 were $1.1 billion

and exports were valued at $0.6 billion. Foreign reserves stood at

$381 million at the end of December 1990 compared with $315 million

at the end of 1989.

The number of persons in paid employment at the end of 1990 was

90,023 according to a quarterly employment survey conducted by the

Bureau of Statistics.

Postal and domestic telecommunications in Fiji have been

corporatised since January 1990. The Posts and Telecommunications

Department has been replaced by Fiji Posts and Telecommunications

Ltd, a private company wholly owned by government. There were

42,425 telephone subscribers and 72,584 telephones installed in the

country in 1990.

Fiji International Telecommunications Limited (FINTEL), a private

company licensed by Government to provide Fiji's international

telecommunication links, operates a submarine coaxial cable terminal

and satellite earth station at Vatuwaqa. A combination of these two

alternative facilities provides Fiji with both adequate capacity

and reliability through diversity of routes. A complete worldwide

international telecommunications service is provided through direct

circuits and utilisation of several overseas switching centres. The

83

company, formed in December 1976, is jointly owned by'the Government

of Fiji (51 per cent) and Cable and Wireless of UK (49 per cent).

FINTEL participates in two important international fora - the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisations (INTELSAT)

and the ANZCAN Cable Management Committee. FINTEL is also a joint

signatory to the agreement with Cable and Wireless (Marine) Ltd

which provides for the maintenance of ANZCAN cable using the

cableship, llPacific Guardian".

Fiji has a wide range of newspapers and periodicals. There are two

dailies, The Fiji Times and The Fiji Post. Other newspapers printed

in the vernacular are Nai Lalakai and Na Tui (Fijian) and Shanti Dut

(Hindi), all weekly publications. Islands Business and Pacific

Islands Monthly are two magazines published in Suva with a regional

circulation.

Radio Fiji, under the auspices of the Fiji Broadcasting Commission,

is the country's national broadcasting network. Programmes are

broadcast in Fijian, English and Hindi. An independent radio

commercial station, FM 96, also provides wide coverage in the major

urban centres. Both stations provide audiences with alternative FM

programmes on a 24-hour basis.

84

TELEVISION

Background

The introduction of television to Fiji has come, although in

temporary form, after many years or deliberation. After

several reviews and feasibility studies the Government agreed to the

introduction of a national, commercial television service with

government having control over the types of programmes that may be

telecast.

The concept of utilising video as a preliminary.to broadcast

television was one of the deciding factors in establishing the Fiji

National Video Centre in 1984 through a joint project between the

Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Government in conjunction with the

Ministry of Information. The development of the Centre, has

included the provision of equipment and staff training. A video

library was also developed to serve as a distribution centre for

video tapes.

In 1984 the Government accepted an offer by a Sydney-based company,

PBL, to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a

national television service, and subsequently decided that

television be introduced in Fiji, possibly in 1987. Following

several months of discussions and negotiations, an agreement was

reached between PBL and the Government in August 1986.

85

Following the coups of 1987, PBL suspended its financial and

administrative support to its locally registered company, Fiji

Television Corporation, because of the downturn in Fiji’s economy.

Contrary to expectations the country made rapid progress towards

economic recovery and in the following year the Government invited

proposals from interested parties to establish a National Television

Service for Fiji based on the following criteria:

* There shall be a self-financing national television

service controlled by Government.

* The Government shall be permitted to hold substantial

ownership in any such venture.

* The service shall be established and operated at no

cost to Government.

The National Television Service shall provide for and subsidise

educational television, particularly rural development support

communication programmes.

After evaluating the proposals the Government decided to widen the

scope of broadcasting and agreed to the establishment of a National

Broadcasting and Television Corporation to provide television and

radio services in Fiji. The Government to have the controlling

interest in the new company, to be known as the Fiji Broadcasting

and Television Corporation (FBTC) which would include the Fiji Posts

86

and Telecommunications Limited (FPTL), Radio Fiji' and the Fiji

National Video Centre.

The proposed Corporation would also involve partnership with an

overseas company which would have a minority shareholding.

The Government holding 51 per cent of the shares in the Corporation

from the assets of Radio Fiji and the Fiji National Video Centre.

The Fiji Posts and Telecommunications Limited (wholly owned by the

Government) to hold 10 per cent of the shares and paid for by FPTL,

and the remaining 39 per cent offered on tender. Under the tender

proposal interested parties were required to provide cash equity for

the 39 per cent shareholding, including management and commercial

expertise, programme supply and training in all aspects of

television broadcasting especially local programme production,

transmission and technical support. Those who previously submitted

proposals in 1989 were required to make fresh submissions to be

considered for participation in the FBTC.

Meanwhile, in October 1991 the Government granted Television New

Zealand a licence to operate a temporary television service in Fiji

to enable coverage of the World Cup Rugby. The temporary service

with the call sign FIJI ONE initially provided coverage to the

capital Suva with coverage extending to Nausori and Navua from its

transmitting station in Tamavua near Suva. The service was extended

to the Western Division in December the same year, following

positive response from viewers in the greater Suva area.

Transmitters were installed at Tualesia south east of Lautoka and in

87

the Sabeto Range providing television signals to Lautoka, Nadi and

surrounding areas.

In May 1992 the Government announced that a permanent national

television service would be initially wholly owned by the state with

Television New Zealand providing management expertise and

programming procurement under contract. It was also the

Government’s intention that the Corporation establishes a nationwide

television service in the country within two years.

The Government and Television New Zealand signed a Memorandum of

Understanding to develop a government-owned television service in

Fiji. The decision followed extensive analysis of alternatives

including thorough reviews of various options over several years,

which meant that Fiji had been able to draw on advice, and review

proposals, from all over the world.

The permanent service would draw on advertising revenue as well as

a licence fee which would be introduced to fund the development of

a nationwide coverage and local programming. The Government also

announced it would impose a waiver licence fee of $1.00 per week

which would contribute to the priority objective of nationwide

coverage within two years. The task because of Fiji’s topography,

would be a difficult and expensive exercise.

The new company, when it is established, will run the television

service and will be managed by Television New Zealand. It will use

resources from the Fiji National Video Centre and the existing FIJI

88

ONE service. The understanding with TVNZ is that ' the temporary

service will continue to the end of 1992 by which time a private

television company should be established.

Under the current arrangement TVNZ will become involved in the

permanent television service on a contractual basis, providing

operational and managerial expertise until the company is fully

operational and competent to run the service (within a period of

five years). It is anticipated that the new company will be

registered by December 1992 when a Board of Directors will be

appointed to manage the affairs of the company. it is also

envisaged that television coverage will be extended in phases to all

of the islands in the Fiji group commencing from the establishment

of the permanent service.

Policy

The Fiji Broadcasting and Television Decree, 1992 provides for the

licensing, and installation or working or dealing in radio

broadcasts and television broadcasts. The provisions of the Decree

are controlled by the Minister responsible for broadcasting and

television.

The Decree provides that the Government shall have the exclusive

privilege of broadcasting any broadcast matter within Fiji; and to

any place, ship, aircraft or vehicle outside Fiji.

89

The Minister responsible is empowered to make regulations

prescribing the forms for licences for working, installing or

dealing in radio or television broadcast receivers and the manner in

which applications for the licences are granted. He may also

prescribe the terms, conditions, restrictions and fees payable in

respect of such licences.

The Decree also provides that a licensee must comply with

directions, given from time to time, by the Minister. In a public

emergency or in the interest of public safety, the Prime Minister or

any officer specially authorised by him may take over the

broadcasting of any broadcast matter by the station which has been

licensed to broadcast under this Decree.

Programme Production

The Fiji Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Television and

Telecommunications has taken an active, long term approach to the

introduction of television since 1984. In that year the Ministry

entered into a joint venture with the Hanns Seidel Foundation of

Germany to develop The Fiji National Video Centre. The FNVC was

established to produce adult education, current affairs, sports and

cultural/entertainment video productions. It was also planned to

become the ftnucleustl of the future national television broadcasting

service, today called Fiji One.

Since the FNVC started to produce programmes in 1985 it has produced

a series of programmes on various topics which are available and in

90

fact used today by Fiji One for broadcast. There is'now a library

of programme material totalling approximately some 40-50 hours.

As a result of the National Video Centre concept Fiji does have a

nucleus of trained television personnel. At the present time, these

staff are occupied with producing a 15-minute taped nightly newscast

(7 days) and a one hour weekly religious program. There are a total

of eleven (11) full time trained producers and technicians, and

another three (3) staff who work directly for the Office of

Information but are shared with the FNVC for the purpose of nightly

news production.

The FNVC facilities are located in a converted home in Suva, they

consist of:

(5mx6m) television production studio,

BVU combination production control and A/B roll edit suite,

BetacamSP A/B roll editing suite, potential third off-line edit

suite which has decommissioned its old U-Matic VTRs, audio

production studio, VTR operation room, ENG equipment storage

area, tape storage facility, engineering workshop, reception

and office space and 1 vehicle.

All the production areas of the FNVC building are exceedingly well

sound-proofed and very well equipped, but the building which houses

it is far too small to function effectively as a production centre.

Production staff find it very difficult to move around as access to

91

most production areas is only by passing through existing studios or

edit suites.

While the staff of the FNVC are relatively well-trained, they are

still in need of training at a higher level in order to bring them

up to a fully professional standard which they are capable of

achieving. At present the staff of FNVC are doing a laudable job

under the difficult conditions imposed by a continuing temporary

service. They will certainly do much better when a definite

structure for Fiji One TV settles into place.

Elsewhere in Fiji's public sector there are some very modest video

production capabilities which are worthy of mention.

The Health Education Unit under the Ministry of Health has a S-VHS

camcorder donated by WHO which is used to produce extension video

programmes. Editing method is a combination of the manual system

with some modest sound mixing and graphics added at the South

Pacific Commission Media Training Centre. This unit has plans to

acquire a cuts-only editing capability if they can find a donor.

The mission was informed that the Ministry of Primary Industries has

a camera which is used to produce extension materials. We were not

able to check this out but did see footage the Ministry supplied to

FNVC for a news story on one occasion.

The South Pacific Commission - Regional Media Training Centre has a considerable video production centre which serves as the main

92

provider of video training for the Pacific. (SPC training will be

discussed later in this report's section on training).

The facility is also used for programme production for SPC projects

in other Pacific states.

The SPC Regional Media Centre possesses four video cameras for use

in outside production or in-studio configuration. Two of the

cameras are JVCKY-17 cameras (which can be docked with the Centre's

JVC BR-S410 S-VHS recorder), one older JVC KY-1900 and one National

WV-3990E camera. All of the cameras can operate with the Centre's

portable U-Matic Hi-Band and Lo-Band recorder. Their editing

facilities consist of a main editing room/control room which is

equipped with a JVC BR-S611E S-VHS player and two JVC PR-900E U-

Matic Hi-Band Recorders, enabling editing to be done from either S-

VHS or U-Matic Hi- Band. The mastering format is U-Matic Hi-Band.

Controlling these recorders is a JVC edit controller which can only

control two machines at a time. The editing facility also consists

of two I.DEN IVT-9SP Time Base Correctors, one Grass Valley 100

vision mixer, an Amiga 2000 titling and graphics computer, one Grass

Valley 9560 Sync Pulse Generator, and a distribution amplifier for

the sync signal. Audio equipment in the suite consists of a

cassette recorder, CD player, graphic equalizer, audio amplifier,

two JBL speakers and one Sony MXP21 audio mixer. Dubbing facilities

in the suite include two JVC BR-7030 PAL and one NTSC duplicator

(each capable of making three copies at a time), one Oki LT1250

Standards Converter, audio and video distribution amplifiers and a

VHS 3-system player. The studio's sound-proofed soundstage has a

93

raised ceiling with lighting grids, basic news set pieces and the

capability of running a two camera shoot with camera control units

in the control room. A voice-over booth with a Shure SM-5

microphone is hard wired to the control room mixer. In another

building another edit suite consists of a cuts-only S-VHS system,

operating from the dockable recorder, a simple edit controller, a

Quanta character generator and a JVC BR-S811E editing recorder. A

third editing system is an older Sony 2640P cuts-only configuration.

University of the South Pacific - Media Centre The USP Media Centre in Suva has the best designed television

studio in the Melanesia region. The centre was constructed in the

University’s old library which was vacated when an Australian aid

grant funded the development of a new library for the campus.

Australian money was also spent on the upgrading of facilities for

the Media Centre.

The television component consists of:

100 metre square video studio equipped with dimmer

controlled lighting grid, 2 Hitachi FPC2 CCD cameras on

aollys, sound absorbtion treatment, a combination production

control/A-B roll edit suite (S-VHS to Umatic SP) equipped

with CMX 300 edit controller, Chyroncharactergenerator, JVC

8 input fully component (S video or Y-U-V) vision mixer,

S-VHS offline edit suite equipped with Panasonic WJMX12

vision mixer, Yamaha MT3X 8 channel porta-studio sound

mixer,

94

VHS offline edit suite with the same vision and'audio mixer.

At the current time this television complex functions as a producer

of audio-visual curriculum support materials for the university main

campus programmes, UÇP extension centres but outside clients and

NGOs may hire the facilities. The Media Centre has also been

commissioned by outside clients to produce educational programmes

for general audiences.

The centre does not provide an academic or professional course of

instruction, though it does offer some short workshops in video

production and camera techniques. The centre has offered short

intensive training courses during semester breaks and is open to the

possibility of more cooperation with the SPC Media Training Centre.

Currently the staff involved in video/television consist of an

expatriate video producer, a video technician/production assistant

and a media assistant.

Although this facility is well designed and equipped for

professional training of television personnel, it is not being used

in this way. The Centre could serve this need but there are no

current pians to introduce television courses, probably because

implementing such an programme is beyond the financial means of the

University at this stage. There would need to be several more

academic level staff for a start, and the operational costs of an

academic course in television are very high.

95

However, this facility is an excellent potential' resource for

meeting the growing demands for professional television training in

the region. It is ideally located in Fiji as the regional

institution of higher learning.

In the private sector there are several independent production

companies operating in Suva and Nadi.

In addition to simple retail TVCs Fiji One produces three of its own

programs. 1) 'IShell Sports Round-up, 20-30min, 2xweekly programmes

of local and international sports news and highlights (at the time

of our interview the last three of these round-ups had no local

content), 2) "International Sports World,Il 1 hour weekly programme

of international sports highlights, and 3) a one hour weekly

international news and current affairs show.

All of these programmes are produced in the temporary one room TVNZ

set-up which is Fiji One. Crammed into this rented room in the

Masonic lodge, production staff video-tape announcer links, which

are then edited together with news and sports highlights. The Fiji

One production consists of one Panasonic F250 CCD S-VHS Camcorder,

an Amiga 2000 PC, cuts only pair of National S-VHS editing VTRS,

Arrilite kit and a WJ-MX12 production mixer. Fiji One in

cooperation with FNVC also produced a live election programme during

the 1992 national elections.

96

Video-Pac

This is a fully professional commercial production company. The

company acquires footage on BetacamSP format, U-MaticSP or Hi8. It

also has a 4xVTR A/B roll edit suite with 2xBVU VTRs and 2xBetacamSP

VTRs, and operates a professional grade paintbox system for graphics

and titles. There is also a well equipped audio production studio

with 12 channel mixer, 8 and 2 track recording and a video/sound

mixing synchronizer.

Video-Pac claims to produce 95% of all television commercials

presently being shown on Fiji One. It also produces numerous

corporate, development education and industrial training video

programmes.

After the introduction of the temporary Fiji One service Video-Pac

produced a 7 episode local cooking programme costing F$16,000. The

program was shot in two days using two cameras. Video-Pac plans to

introduce more programs such as a schools quiz challenge programme

and a rock-clip programme. The company is also negotiating with the

Ministry of Education about the possibility of producing a social

studies magazine programme.

Pro-Image

The mission was not able to visit Pro-Image, a Suva-based production

company, owned and operated by a former employee of Video Pac, Leoni

Vuetivavalagi, a Fijian national. This company operates on the

97

S-VHS format and it produces a variety of programmes'and television

spots.

SPR Video

This company is based in Nadi and it was not possible for the

mission to visit their establishment. It is another S-VHS facility

which is attached to a musical recording and distribution company.

From time to time, the company provides sports and news footage

directly to Fiji One.

The video production industry in Fiji is rather similar to Papua New

Guinea's, with public and private sector video production facilities

in existence. In some cases these production houses have been

producing programmes for several years. It remains to be seen

whether this resource of expertise will translate into a substantial

level of local programmes on the Fiji One service or if Fiji will go

the same route as Papua New Guinea.

Transmission

In the current set-up all programmes including the news bulletin

produced at the Fiji National Video Centre, emanate from TVNZ's

presentation centre at the Masonic Lodge which is situated next to

the Government Buildings complex in Suva. The video signal is

carried through a cable to the adjacent government building and fed

into a 10 watt VHF link transmitter. The link transmitter operates

on channel 11 (216-223 MHz), using a stacked dipole antenna.

98

Broadcast takes place from a transmission site at Tamavua which has

an altitude of 600 ft AMSL. This transmitter has a base power

output of 50 watts and operates on channel 5 (202-209 MHz). The

antenna, a stack of folded dipoles, is mounted on a 120 ft high

triangular mast. The ERP was said to be of the order of 500 watts.

A second transmitter, which covers the Lautoka and Nadi areas, also

has a base power output of 50 watts and operates on channel 5. The

site is located at Sabeto Hill, 1000 ft AMSL. This transmitter

works with an antenna mounted on a 60 ft high mast. The station

receives video signals via a low power channel 11 link transmitter

from a switching centre located at Tualesia. There is no direct

link between this switching centre and the presentation centre in

Suva, and pre-recorded programme material is therefore, air

freighted from Suva each day. The material is replayed from the

switching centre at Tualesia.

Both are 'test' transmitters initially provided by TVNZ for the

temporary operation which was set up to broadcast World Cup Rugby.

No redundancy exists at equipment level and therefore even a single

point fault can result in service interruption.

Each transmitter was reported to have a useful coverage range of

approximately 20 km. No field strength survey has been carried out

to verify this estimate. The Information Ministry's estimate of

overall population coverage is approximately 25%. The transmission

standard is 625/PAL.

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A detailed plan for further development of the transmission network

has yet to be formulated. The present thinking in the Ministry of

Information is in the direction of a four-phase expansion spread

over a period of about 24 months. In the first and second phases,

the expansion programme would focus on the main island, Viti Levu

(in which Suva and Lautoka are situated). The third phase would

concentrate on the second largest island, Vanua Levu, which is

beyond the service range of the existing transmitters in Suva and

Lautoka. The fourth phase would extend to the outlying Lomaiviti

and Lau groups of islands.

Fiji has the advantage of a well developed telecommunication

infrastructure. A number of radio bearers with a maximum capacity

of 960 voice grade circuits exists within Viti Levu island, and

there are plans in the medium term for establishing a number of

digital links with a capacity of 34 Mb/s, including some which will

carry inter-island traffic between Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni,

Koro and Ovalau islands. A 140 Mb/s route is planned across Viti

Levu. It is expected that these paths will be used to their full

potential for programme distribution when a TV broadcast network is

established. The process should be facilitated by the fact that

domestic telecommunication service is in the hands of a

government-owned corporation. The topographical characteristics of

the country will require a series of off-air translators to be used

in conjunction with broadcast transmitters fed by the

telecommunication network. The number of such translators will,

however, be limited by the cumulative degradation occurring at each

point of translation.

100

Subsidiary regulations are currently being framed fo'r

implementation of the Television Decree. These regulations will

inter-alia set out the technical parameters relevant to television

transmission.

Use of satellites is likely to remain confined in the foreseeable

future to reception of international programming for monitoring and

broadcast purposes. The TV presentation centre at the Masonic Lodge

in Suva uses a 7 m antenna looking at the 1800 Intelsat POR

satellite. This antenna, which belongs to the Government of Fiji,

is backed up by a smaller parabolic antenna owned by TVNZ.

The lone earth station of FINITEL, the overseas telecom carrier, is

TV capable. No link exists between this earth station and the TV

presentation centre in Masonic Lodge. However, the station is

equipped with a Betacam SP recorder to record and play back

international feeds.

Viewing Audience

Television transmissions are presently confined to Suva, Nadi and

Lautoka areas on Viti Levu. The estimated population coverage is in

the order of 25%.

The number of receivers available within the coverage area is not

precisely known. Estimates range from 70,000 to 80,000. The cost

of a 20" receiver is in the region of US$450. When a VCR deck is

101

added, the cost increases to US$700. There are indications that

television viewing is extensive and enthusiastic.

No license fee is presently charged for TV reception. However,

consideration is being given to a small levy of one (1) Fiji dollar

(USS0.7) per week which might eventually be abolished when other

financial resources become available to fully support the TV

operation.

Reception of satellite signals is permitted but each receiver must

be registered upon payment of a fee of US$35. Approximately 50

receivers have been registered to date.

Manpower and Training

Fiji has had the advantage of having set up a National Video Centre

as a forerunner to an on-air service. The core staff of 12 people

posted at the Centre have attained considerable experience in

programme production and many of them have attended training

courses, in various aspects of video production organised by the

South Pacific Commission (SPC) . The staff have the basic skills

necessary to meet the current commitment of a daily 15-minute news

programme.

Access is available to well established training facilities

including the Media Centre of the University of the South Pacific

(USP) in Suva, which organises frequent semester-break workshops on

video production; 12 such workshops in 1991 attracted as many as 200

102

registrations. The University has a regional' mandate but

participation in short term workshops scheduled during academic

breaks is entirely local.

On the technical side, facility exists for diploma level education

(of the City and Guilds standards) at the Fiji Institute of

Technology (FIT). A regional Telecommunications Training Centre

(TTC), which was established with the assistance of the

International Telecommunications Union (ITU), offers specialised

training in transmission technology.

The National Video Centre presently employs a single engineer

assisted by a trainee technician. This is grossly inadequate,

considering that maintenance and repairing functions are a

completely in-house responsibility. It is believed that if the

required financial resources are made available, there will be no

difficulty in recruiting additional staff with appropriate

qualifications.

The mission had the impression that while attachment with the

National Video Centre (FNVC) has given the present staff a good

foundation in production techniques, additional training is

necessary in the creative process. The personnel presently attached

to the FNVC have been drawn from the Ministry of Information and

can, in principle, be reverted to their former positions in the

service. This situation needs careful examination as the medium of

television demands complete and enduring commitment. The available

expertise needs to be consolidated and retained.

103

At the present junction, where the government is in 'the process of

determining a concrete policy for television, there is need for an

experienced engineer to guide the planning process. An appropriate

solution might be to request an international or a regional

organisation, such as the ITU or the ABU, to provide the services of

a short-term consultant.

Recommendations

1. The temporary television service should be converted into a

permanent structure as soon as possible as an indefinite

continuation of the current situation is not desirable. Dedicated

staff need to be placed in position to ensure adequate commitment to

the medium. The existing arrangement of drawing staff from other

sections of the Ministry is not conducive to satisfactory

preparation for a regular television service.

2. Even in the current temporary operation there is need for a

monitoring mechanism to ensure that the aspirations of the

Government are met by the service provider.

3. A direct association with the service provider in programme

scheduling matters is highly desirable.

4. The terms of appointment to the proposed television

corporation should be attractive enough to induce staff currently

associated with the temporary service, who have been trained at

104

considerable investment of effort and money, to remain in the

medium.

5. A perspective plan for transmission coverage on a country-wide

basis is needed to guide future expansion of the existing network.

Telecommunication routes of Fiji Posts and Telecommunications

Limited could either be designed from the start to accommodate

television traffic or engineered to allow the introduction of

additional radio bearers for the purpose.

6. The present video production facility under the Ministry of

Information is inadequate for a television broadcasting operation

and offers only limited scope for expansion. A permanent site which

would permit all normal functions associated with a television

service is now required.

105

contact List

Apisalome Tudreu Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information, Broadcasting Television and Telecommunications

Nick Samitz Station Manager Fiji One (TVNZ)

Josua B. Turaganivalu Director Regulatory Unit Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Television and Telecommunications

Bram Deo Engineer Fiji National Video Centre Ministry of Information

Simon Young Manager Engineering Fiji Broadcasting Commission

Filipe Komai Health Education Unit

Ken Rowe Media Center University of South Pacific

Glen Hughes Managing Director Video-Pac

Leoni Vuetivavalagi Pro Image Productions

106

TELEVISION IN MELANESIA: An Overview

Television is now becoming common in the Pacific. In the last five

years a majority of the Pacific states have either commenced

television broadcasting or have taken definite steps towards its

introduction. The medium is now part of Pacific .island life and the

islanders will need to come to terms with it.

In the Melanesian Pacific developments in television are unfolding

quite rapidly. Three of the four countries in the survey (Fiji,

Vanuatu and Solomon Islands) are in the very early stages of

introducing television to their people. The fourth (Papua New

Guinea) has had commercial television for six years, but the

government is in no hurry to establish a second, government run

television service. in all countries television is a topic of great

concern +O government, While these developments signal a new era in

Melanesian communications, a note of caution needs to be sounded at

the outset.

In all the Melanesian countries surveyed, events associated with the

introduction of television have proceeded at a pace faster than

expected. Television has already started to make demands which they

find difficult to meet. It needs more money than they have; it

needs more highly trained people than they have; it needs more

technical infrastructure than they have. Many civil servants have

discovered the hard way that television requires spending larger

sums of money on a regular basis than they are used to.

107

In trying to summarize what the countries of Melanesia want from

television two words, which were heard repeatedly, will suffice:

education and development. Governments want television to help them

communicate with people spread over a vast area, one of the biggest

challenges in the Pacific. They also want television to increase

the quality of life without changing the cultural patterns that

exist. Unfortunately, television has rarely lived up to the

expectations of other developing countries in these areas. It will

cost a lot of money, more than they realize, to make television

serve their needs effectively. And without this money chances are

high that television will become a one-way channel inward for

programs which powerfully reflect the tastes and values of foreign,

consumer oriented cultures.

The hopeful side of these rapid developments is the pace of

technological advancement in television equipment. Professional

quality production equipment for television has come down

dramatically in price during these last few years. Advancements in

S-VHS and Hi8 formats effectively mean that broadcast or near

broadcast standards are priced for the consumer market today.

Suitable television equipment is now in the realm of possibility for

Pacific nation budgets. But, while the cost of these llsmallertt

technologies now makes acquiring a television capability possible,

the all-important cost of producing locally originated programming

will probably remain high because it is a labour intensive activity.

Local program production has been the biggest problem for

television in the developing world over the last 30 years, and the

108

Melanesian countries are beginning to get firsthand Confirmation of

this. Governments that want development education on television

have to get into the business of producing it themselves or be

prepared to spend large amounts of money paying someone else to do

it for them. In other parts of the world, with larger populations

and a more money to work with, governments have often grown weary of

the time, expense and sheer difficulty of this endeavour. They have

often ended up settling for much lower expectations of television's

role in nation building. If this pattern is to be avoided in the

Pacific some drastic action is needed, especially in the area of

sustainable programming concepts.

Another note of caution which arises from the findings of this

report concerns the need for careful, informed and thorough

planning as a prerequisite to the introduction of television

broadcasting. There has been a tendency in some of the

countries surveyed to rush into providing a Iltelevision signal"

because it is technically feasible, but without defining fundamental

policies relating to a valuable public resource. There is also a

need for better planning, so that meager resources can best be used

to ensure that television does not remain a feature of urban life

only. All the countries in Melanesia have a pressing need for

expert advice which is well informed of the unique problems in the

Pacific. In addition, this expert advice should not confine itself

to legal, technical and financial considerations alone. Such advise

and planning must begin with the all-important demands of programme

production and human resource development.

109

Ultimately the human resource problem is the most complex one of

all. Television broadcasting is a field which not only demands the

full range of human knowledge - from the fine arts to electronic engineering - but it demands that such talents and faculties be dedicated to the task often 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even

more, television personnel must be capable of coordinating

themselves to perform under intense deadline pressure. The news

cannot be a different length and appear at a different time each

day; the public soon tires of that. The sports telecast must start

when the whistle blows; the public will be disappointed with the

broadcaster if they miss out on the best goal of the match.

Considering that two of the nations in this survey are starting from

a position of less than zero (See Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

Programming/Production) regarding television manpower resources, the

problem grows even larger. If television is to become anything

more than a satellite receive and relay service in the smaller

Pacific states, far-reaching and well funded national plans for

human resource development are needed urgently.

In summary, recent advances in video technology have only brought

television to the level of feasibility in the Melanesian Pacific.

The same old problems of lack of local content, planning, and

training facilities, will continue to plague television broadcasters

in the region. Papua New Guinea and Fiji may both end up with

television that is predominantly foreign. Vanuatu and Solomon

Islands seem certain to have television which solely transmits

overseas information for some time to come. If this situation is to

110

be avoided some very creative answers will be needed as soon as

possible.

REGIONAL ISSUES

1. Human Resource Development

As major events in the development of television are occurring

quite rapidly in the Melanesian countries, human resource

development takes on an even greater urgency than it has in the

past. All the Melanesian countries have now initiated television

developments and the demands for training programmes in these

countries alone have increased at least three-fold in the last year.

Similar developments are occurring in the other regions of the

Pacific. Based on Melanesian developments alone, the time has

surely come to address human resource development for television in

a comprehensive way in the regional context. Two Melanesian

countries are in the early stages of television broadcasting, yet

have virtually no one in the entire country who has any sort of

professional experience with the medium!

As stated in the beginning of this report, television is a

discipline which requires the full range of knowledge from its

personnel; from the fine arts to electronic engineering. Not only

does a television environment put all these talents together under

one roof, it also calls upon its staff to be dedicated to their

tasks sometimes seven days a week. It often calls upon individual

111

staff members to employ talents at both ends of the spectrum at the

same time.

There may be a tendency to simply accept the fact that such

demanding personnel standards are unrealistic given the severely

limited financial resources of states in the region. However, it

would not be a wasted effort to consider what human resource

development resources would be necessary to achieve an acceptable

level of professional skills.

With the recent introduction of television in Fiji, Solomon Islands

and Vanuatu alone, there is a significantly increased demand for

television personnel. Clearly no training in the world can supply

an entire television staff in a few months; however, current

television training facilities in the region cannot provide the

comprehensive, formal training which is necessary for start-up

operations in countries with no prior experience in television.

The only recourse in such cases is to send people to established

overseas broadcast training schools, such as AFRTS in Australia. In

the opinion of the PACTEL mission this is not feasible or

appropriate in most cases. While the training available in such

institutions is on par with the best in the world, it is too

specialised to be appropriate for the needs of typical Pacific

island broadcasting operations. In the Pacific most television

stations are under funded and under staffed; personnel in these

operations are often forced to be equally adept at writing,

reporting, camera operation and video tape editing.

112

There is also the aspect of finding a way of nurturing the

development of a IIPacific televisionvv form that may naturally

develop over time. Overseas professional training would inhibit

this primarily because the training geared to a foreign standard,

and it would impose a bias for the overseas system which has been

learned.

Quite often when the topic of raining needs came up during the

PACTEL mission. It was emphasised that in-service training should

be done where the people are working so that their skills are

relevant to the equipment they will be called on to work with every

day. There is little value in sending someone to a developed

country to learn in a professional broadcasting environment which

has been well established over the course of several decades; where

rules, standards and management systems have evolved to cater for a

vast and complicated broadcasting system, if they are going to come

back to Honiara and function as one of five people responsible for

a nightly newscast.

The PACTEL mission feels there is a priority need for some sort of

new structure for broadcast training in the Pacific to supplement

the existing training resources of SPC, Asia-Pacific Institute of

Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and other institutions in the

region. This should be an educational institution located in the

Pacific operating at the tertiary level. It should have curriculum

catering for a one or two year comprehensive formal course of study,

as well as short workshops which would cater for in-service

training.

113

The structure of the studio training facilities should be current

with the latest relevant technology, and designed to best reflect

the types of studios which are in use of likely to be in use in the

Pacific.

There should be an overarching emphasis on the development of skills

which will contribute to production of locally originated

programming, taking into consideration the budget and staffing

constraints typical of television in most Pacific countries.

There is also the need for facilities for the specialised training

of engineers and maintenance technicians, as well as production and

operations personnel.

In addition there is the need for an emphasis on training writers,

actors and directors that would give full reign to the synthesis of

local artistic forms with the demands of television production.

2. Planning Process

As events have demonstrated, a viable television service can be

implemented even within the severely constrained economic

environment which characterises most of the Pacific region, if:

- modest targets are set for local production, giving

priority to local news and development communication - the latter

preferably produced by national entities directly responsible for

development activities

114

- reasonable control is exercised on selection of

internationally sourced programming in order to ensure due

protection of local values and interests

- Emphasis is placed on functional simplicity and cost

effectiveness, rather than technical excellence. (Acceptable

quality can be achieved with semi- professional equipment, which is

available at substantially lower cost than fully professional

equipment.)

- A comprehensive planning process, with the following key

elements, is undertaken before initiating the service:

(vii)

Aims and Objectives

Scope

Legislation

Ownership (government agency/corporation/private company)

Programming emphasis (information/education/entertainment)

Programming strategy (local content/news and current

affairs/development communication/choice of international

sources/broadcast rights)

Engineering solutions (technical standards/studio

requirements/choice of equipment/utilities)

Transmission network (coverage plan/delivery methods)

Service consumption (individual reception/community

reception)

Functional responsibility (for production as well as

transmission)

115

(xi) Human resource (recruitment/training)

(xii) Organisational structure (management/news/programme

production/engineering/finance/marketing/audience

research)

(xiii) Funding options, and analysis of costs and revenue

(xiv) Business plan

(xv) Project profile, time tables.

These are the issues which are generally accepted by the

broadcasting industry as essential elements in the planning of a

television service. It is felt by the PACTEL mission that thorough

consideration of all these factors will go a long way towards

establishing a successful television service. The above discipline

is highly recommended for consideration in the Pacific.

3. News Exchange

International television news material is available from a number of

sources. However, coverage of events specific to the Pacific region

is extremely thin. It should be expected that as television expands

in the region, there will be a distinct demand in each country for

news coverage pertinent to neighbouring areas. Such a demand can be

met in the long term by establishing a satellite delivered regional

News Exchange similar to Asiavision.

116

However, this is not considered feasible in the immediate future

because :

- not all of the satellite earth stations in the

countries of the region have television capability

(incremental engineering will be needed in many cases)

- television organisations in the region are not likely to

be in a position to meet the costs of shared satellite capacity

and individual uplinks and downlinks.

An achievable goal in the near term will be a weekly or fortnightly

tape exchange of news summaries. The cost of such an operation is

expected to be within manageable propositions.

For such an exchange to operate successfully, it is necessary that

a common recording standard be adopted by all participating

organisations.

117

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