Telecommunications link to the remote island of Vatoa in the Lau group was recently restored by Telecom Fiji Limited after five months off the network.
The reconnection was made possible following the recent visit to the Lau group by Government officials.
Vatoa, is one of the remote islands in the Lau group with a population of more than 200 people.
Vatoa elder Mr Suka Salusalu could not resist the tears of joy while thanking the Commissioner Eastern and the Telecom Fiji Limited technicians, who were part of the recent Government team that toured the Lau group.
“For five months we are in the dark. There was no telephone communication due to some technical problem but today is indeed a joyful day, we can now talk to our sons and daughters in Suva, I must thank Government for making this trip to this remote island of Vatoa,” Mr Salusalu said.
Telecom Fiji Limited technician, Mr Jese Balenaivalu said it took them a few hours to rectify the technical problem.
“We tried our best to repair the technical problem and it took us two hours actually to reconnect Vatoa to the outside world through our satellite phone connection. The people of Vatoa were so happy of the news. It is one of the best days of their lives,” Mr Baleinavalu said.
Commissioner Eastern, Mr Netani Rika said that communication network is vital to remote islands of Fiji such as Vatoa.
“I am glad that the Telecom technicians have done a superb job and I am also glad that I had included them in the tour. I think they should always be part of future tours because communication is vital to such remote islands of Fiji.”
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