![Minister for Rural and Maritime Development Inia Seruiratu and Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. [image: Parliament of Fiji]](https://www.fijivillage.com/news_images/12328936345fd299dfe26985820955.jpg)
Minister for Rural and Maritime Development Inia Seruiratu says the bill to amend the Telecommunications Act is long overdue to connect the unconnected.
Seruiratu says work has to continue in the areas that do not have mobile and internet connectivity.
He says this is one of the issues the people of Lau even raised during his recent visit.
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Seruiratu says getting the unconnected areas connected is also very important for search and rescue operations as they lost the late former Turaga Na Tui Macuata just next to Nukubati Resort in Vanua Levu because there was no mobile phone coverage in the area. The late former Tui Macuata, Ratu Aisea Katonivere died while fishing near the Nukubati area.
Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they have identified 300 sites in Fiji that do not have any connectivity.
While moving the motion to debate the bill to amend the Telecommunications Act 2008 in Parliament, Sayed-Khaiyum says under the current law, if they identify an area that is not connected, they have to call a tender to see which mobile phone companies want to go there.
Sayed-Khaiyum says there is a need to amend the Telecommunications Act because they want to move quickly in connecting the 5 percent of Fijians who face issues regarding connectivity.
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He says in the past few years they have been working with mobile, radio and TV companies and have reached an agreement on shared infrastructure in some areas.
The Attorney General says they are looking at one tower with many transmitters for these unconnected areas rather than having many towers in one small area because companies will not have to fork out that much money.
Meanwhile SODELPA MP Lynda Tabuya has questioned how these towers will be powered in the rural areas because they depend on generators at the moment.
Tabuya says during the funeral of the late former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in Lau, there was no supply of this service one night because the generator ran out of diesel.
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Debate on the bill to amend the Telecommunications Act will take place later today.
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