Wallis and Futuna - Transport and Communications

Transport and Communications

In 1994, the territory had 1,125 telephones in use, had one AM radio station, and two television broadcast stations. Communication costs are high, costing up to ten times as much as western countries. The island of Wallis has about 100 kilometres (62 mi) of highway, of which 16 paved, while the island of Futuna has only 20 kilometres (12 mi), none paved. The territory has two main ports and harbours, Mata-Utu and Leava (on the island of Futuna), that support its merchant marine fleet consisting of three ships (two passenger ships and a petroleum tanker), totaling 92,060 GRT or 45,881 tonnes. There are two airports, one on Wallis with a paved runway of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), and one on Futuna with a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) unpaved strip. New Caledonia-based Aircalin operates the only commercial flights that go to Wallis, where it has an office in Mata-Utu. There are no commercial boat operators.