New Caledonia
Power & telecom standards in New Caledonia
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered dial-up internet access, WiFi hotspot access and broadband ethernet access in New Caledonia. We also offered Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access in New Caledonia for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
New Caledonia uses 220V at 50Hz. Power outlets are type C, F and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Tempest Telecom provided local dial-up access numbers in New Caledonia at $0.255/minute. Travelers could connect using any standard modem with an RJ-11 telephone adapter.
WiFi Hotspot Access
Tempest Telecom provided WiFi hotspot access in New Caledonia at $19.95/day for unlimited browsing.
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.
New Caledonia at a Glance
- Capital
- Noumea
- Phone Code
- +687
- Voltage
- 220V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- C, F
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- CFP Franc
- Dial-up
- $0.255/min
- WiFi
- $19.95/day
About connectivity in New Caledonia
New Caledonia uses 220V/50Hz with the French Type E plug — reflecting the territory's status as a special collectivity of France in the South Pacific. The phone jack is RJ-11. OPT-NC (Office des Postes et Télécommunications de Nouvelle-Calédonie) is the dominant operator alongside Mobilis.
New Caledonian commercial Internet emerged in the late 1990s through OPT-NC. The territory's ~270,000 population concentrated on the Grande Terre main island enabled comparatively rapid broadband adoption.
The New Caledonian prepaid international calling-card market through the 2000s served the modest diaspora — concentrated in metropolitan France and Australia.
Tempest Telecom served New Caledonia through dial-up POPs in Nouméa. The substantial nickel-mining sector (New Caledonia is one of the world's largest nickel producers), the South Pacific maritime industry, and the broader Melanesian regional logistics customer base sustained Iridium demand.
Modern New Caledonia has expanding 4G LTE coverage with FTTH concentrated in Nouméa.
Tempest's services across New Caledonia, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in New Caledonia between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in New Caledonia 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 New Caledonia from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to New Caledonia; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Oceania
Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Nauru · New Zealand · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Tonga