Digicel! Topap long ples ia! An international telecommunications company making itself at home in the urban landscapes of Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga

Abstract

Mobile phone usage has increased at an unprecedented rate across the Pacific over the past 10–15 years, radically transforming the way communication takes place. The catalyst for this transformation is generally attributed to the breakdown of monopolies previously held by national telecom corporations over their own domestic markets, and the entrance of one particular new provider, Digicel. This paper examines the strategies through which Digicel has managed to insert itself into the visual landscape of the urban spaces of Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga. Through multimodal analysis of digital photographs from the landscapes of these countries' capital cities, the paper shows how the global company makes use of a range of techniques to establish its own place and identity as a local network. These techniques include the demonstration of largesse and dominance over competitors, slogans that stake a claim to belonging, and the use of local language terms and images that juxtapose the local with the global. Through these techniques, Digicel manages to position itself simultaneously as the provider both of fast and reliable global communication technologies and of a truly local, national service, while also radically transforming the physical spaces of our cities as it has made itself at home here.

Uneven Connections: A Partial History of the Mobile Phone in Papua New Guinea

“…The ads also suggest how Digicel created a recognisable visual culture that for a time saturated the urban landscape of Port Moresby with red and white logos and brand imagery (cf. Willans et al 2022).…”

“…Billboards are erected; banners are hoisted on power poles; public buses are painted red and white; retail stores, also painted red and white, are opened to waiting crowds; concerts and fashion shows are hosted. Similar strategies transformed the urban visual landscape when Digicel arrived in Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu (Willans et al 2022). The PNG launch video concludes with its only understatement, the proclamation 'Digicel Has Arrived'.…”

“…Wherever it landed across the Pacific Islands, Digicel arrived with a big marketing splash. Towns were covered with billboards and banners, newspapers carried advertisements daily, and shops were painted in the company's colours of red and white (see Willans et al 2022; 'Ofa 2011: 124). Flashy youth-oriented strategies developed in the Caribbean were exported to the Pacific Islands, where they met both positive and negative reactions.…”

“…Digicel very quickly moved in PNG and elsewhere in the Pacific to establish its place in the life of the nation through sponsorships (for Fiji, see Horst 2018; for Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, see Willans et al 2022). In fact, Digicel entered into a sponsorship agreement with Fiji's national rugby team before the company had actually launched its operations (Horst 2018).…”