Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Power & telecom standards in Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 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 Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
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.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands at a Glance
- Capital
- West Island
- 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 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands use 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.
Cocos commercial Internet has been served through Telstra. The territory's tiny population (~600) and extreme remoteness shape infrastructure development around satellite and limited undersea cable connectivity.
The Cocos prepaid international calling-card market was negligible.
Tempest Telecom served the Cocos Islands through Iridium satphones for the Australian defense aviation operations, the Indian Ocean maritime industry, and modest tourism operators.
Modern Cocos Islands has limited 4G LTE coverage in the populated settlements.
Tempest's services across Cocos (Keeling) Islands, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Cocos (Keeling) Islands between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Cocos (Keeling) Islands 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 Cocos (Keeling) Islands from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Oceania
American Samoa · Australia · Christmas Island · Cook Islands · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Kiribati