Tokelau
Power & telecom standards in Tokelau
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Tokelau. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Tokelau 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 Tokelau. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Tokelau.
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.
Tokelau at a Glance
- Capital
- no formal capital
- Phone Code
- +690
- Voltage
- 230V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- I
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- NZD
- Dial-up
- N/A
- WiFi
- N/A
About connectivity in Tokelau
Tokelau uses 230V/50Hz with the Australian/NZ-style Type I outlet. The phone jack is RJ-11. The country code is +690. Tokelau is a dependency of New Zealand with a population of approximately 1,500 spread across three coral atolls. There is no formal capital; administrative functions rotate annually between the three villages on Atafu, Fakaofo, and Nukunonu.
Tokelau has no airstrip and is reachable only by sea from Samoa. The territory became one of the world's first 100%-renewable-energy nations in 2012 when its three atolls completed conversion to solar power. Commercial Internet emerged in the 2000s through satellite-only links via TeleTok; submarine cable connectivity arrived through a 2023 partnership project.
Tempest Telecom served Tokelau essentially only through Iridium satellite phones, given the absence of terrestrial commercial connectivity during the operational period. The customer base was the small handful of researchers, supply-vessel crews, and the territorial administration staff.
Modern Tokelau has improved terrestrial broadband following the 2023 cable arrival.
Tempest's services across Tokelau, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Tokelau between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Tokelau 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 Tokelau from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Tokelau; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.