Japan to support telecom infrastructure in South Pacific using Open RAN technology
Japan’s government and private sector will offer support for telecommunications infrastructure in Pacific island countries, starting with a data center and telecom project in Palau, in an effort to improve the security of vital networks connecting Asia and North America. The initiative will be led by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and is expected to include telecom company NTT Group, internet service provider Internet Initiative Japan and other companies. It aims to increase Japan’s participation in the South Pacific, a region crisscrossed with undersea communications cables linking East Asia, the U.S., Australia and Southeast Asia. Funding will come from the ministry’s international cooperation budget. Several billion yen (1 billion yen equals $7.1 million) in public-private investment is expected to be mobilized over the first two years.
The infrastructure improvements will use Open Radio Access network (RAN) technology, which Japan has sought to promote as a low-cost way of building wireless networks from components made by different manufacturers.
Japan, the U.S., and Australia — which, along with India, make up the security dialogue known as the Quad — all support improving communications security in Pacific island countries. These island countries are reliant on equipment from Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies for their land-based networks. The U.S. and others say Huawei has ties to the Chinese military and poses a security risk. Western officials have raised concerns about the potential for eavesdropping on communications and other activities. Huawei denies such accusations.
Quad members have agreed to support the modernization of Palau’s telecommunications infrastructure. Japan’s communications ministry will start putting this initiative to work as early as fiscal 2025, which begins in April. It will then seek to expand aid in fiscal 2026 to other countries in the region. Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands — two of the dwindling number of countries to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan — are likely to be candidates for such support. The effort will also seek to train cybersecurity personnel. Island countries with understaffed cybersecurity capabilities are seen as a potential vulnerability that can be exploited to launch attacks against Japan, experts say.
Tuvalu-an island country roughly halfway between Australia and Hawaii-is expected to be a candidate to receive Japanese support for telecommunications infrastructure. © Reuters
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China has worked to extend its influence in the South Pacific. In recent years, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of relations with Beijing. The Solomon Islands also formed a security agreement with China. Including Palau, only three countries in the region still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Telecommunications infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for island countries in their own right.
“A stable network connecting a country with the rest of the world is essential for receiving remittances from migrant workers. Better telecommunications infrastructure is of great significance in improving ties between countries,” said Motohiro Tsuchiya, a professor at the Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance in Japan.
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References:
https://market.us/report/open-ran-market/
https://www.o-ran.org/otics/japan-otic
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/japan-s-5g-ambitions-quad