Christmas Island
Power & telecom standards in Christmas Island
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Christmas Island. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Christmas Island uses 230V at 50Hz. Power outlets are type I and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up access was not available in Christmas Island. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Christmas Island.
Adapters & Power
Travelers from North America will need a power plug adapter. European Type C/F adapters are widely compatible.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Christmas Island at a Glance
- Capital
- Flying Fish Cove
- Phone Code
- +61
- Voltage
- 230V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- I
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- AUD
- Dial-up
- N/A
- WiFi
- N/A
About connectivity in Christmas Island
Christmas Island uses 230V/50Hz with the Type I plug shared with Australia — the territory is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. The phone jack is RJ-11. Telstra operates the territory's telecom infrastructure as an extension of mainland Australian operations.
Christmas Island commercial Internet has been served through Telstra. The territory's tiny population (~1,700) and remote location 1,550 km northwest of Australia shape infrastructure.
The Christmas Island prepaid international calling-card market was negligible given the small population.
Tempest Telecom served Christmas Island through limited Telstra arrangements. Iridium satphones served the Australian immigration-detention facility operators, the Indian Ocean maritime industry, and the unique-biodiversity research customer base (the island's endemic red-crab annual migration is a notable research focus).
Modern Christmas Island has 4G LTE coverage in the populated settlement area.
Tempest's services across Christmas Island, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Christmas Island between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Christmas Island drew from the same balance for pre-paid international voice calling, RADIUS-authenticated dial-up Internet roaming, metered Wi-Fi hotspot access, Iridium satellite voice, and Inmarsat BGAN data terminals. An attempted kiosk-payment federation (PATN, 1998) extended the same architecture to public Internet terminals but failed to reach scale.
Iridium satellite voice was available in Christmas Island from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Christmas Island; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Oceania
American Samoa · Australia · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Cook Islands · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Kiribati