Papua New Guinea Telecommunications 

Although PNG has a relatively advanced telecom network, tele-density as well as mobile and Internet penetration remains very low. Telecoms infrastructure is limited to the major urban centres of Port Moresby, Lae and Mt Hagen leaving rural areas very poorly served. In order to address this, a private company, Digicel, is building a US$500 million mobile network, across PNG. The state owned company, Telikom, is also extending its network to rural areas for both land and mobile systems, using V-Sats powered by solar systems.

Further generic information on the telecommunications sector in PNG can be found in the following document:

Papua New Guinea Telecommunications Additional Information

Telecommunication Regulation

The department in charge of telecommunications regulations is: National Information & Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) NICTA. The NICTA is the converged regulator established by an Act of Parliament, the National Information and Communications Technology Act 2009 (NICT Act). The functions of NICTA include the issuance of all Telecommunications licences (Operator and Radio communications) as well as ensuring that provision of ICT services conform to National and International standards. The NICT Act allows for converged regulatory authority to address economic and consumer issues which were previously dealt by ICCC. The NICTA Act further created a secretariat called the Universal Access and Fund Secretariat (UAF Secretariat) within NICTA to manage donor, government and industry levies used to rollout ICT projects to rural areas and communities around the country.

The Department of Communication and Information (DCI) has jurisdiction over information services, policy, research and development, and provides support services for the Minister for State Enterprises and Information, and, recently, privatization function. Its primary responsibilities include collecting, collating, and disseminating government development information to information and educate the general public, research and develop information and communication policies, and coordinate among the communication entities on the implementation of related policies.

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems

In PNG there are numerous telecommunication systems for use by emergency agencies. Communication between national agencies is limited to land or mobile telecommunications. At the national level, communication between the NDC and PDCs is via the Health Department radio communications network. The NDC utilizes the Health Department Radio Communication Network to relay warning/forecast messages to the provinces during times of emergencies. PDCs play an important role in disseminating information to communities and national agencies during emergencies.

Further information on emergency telecommunications, findings and recommendations of the author of this LCA can be found in the following document:

Papua New Guinea Telecommunications Additional Information