Interview:Paul Komboi How would you evaluate the completion of the Coral Sea Cable Project and the Kumul Submarine Cable Network, and what are the benefits of these? PAUL KOMBOI: The impact thus far has been positive, enabling capacity to expand by around 4 GB. This has brought much-needed stability and reliability to the network. Prices have also dropped by 40%. We want to ensure that our…
The laying of two subsea fibre-optic cables – one international and one domestic – are among the recent and promising ICT developments in Papua New Guinea. There is optimism that these will help expand access and reduce costs in rural areas, which are home to over 80% of the country’s 8.6m-strong population. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the restructuring of state-owned ICT…
The laying of two subsea fibre-optic cables – one international and one domestic – are among the recent and promising ICT developments in Papua New Guinea. There is optimism that these will help expand access and reduce costs in rural areas, which are home to over 80% of the country’s 8.6m-strong population. To keep pace with these developments, moves have been made to enhance data protection…
The government of Papua New Guinea faces some challenges in 2020, with the electorate calling for improvements to social and economic infrastructure, and greater efforts to combat both real and perceived corruption. Despite these difficulties, PNG’s resource wealth and strategic location between the industrial centres of north-east Asia, the rising economies of the Association of South-east Asia
The Coral Sea Cable System (CSCS), backed by Australia, appears to be on track for completion by the end of 2019, bringing an additional 20 Tbps of capacity to Papua New Guinea as of 2020. Several project milestones have been completed, with all but the system commissioning stage of the project under way as of September 2019. At present PNG relies on two subsea optical cables that provide approximately…
The World Bank estimates that improving internet access in Papua New Guinea could boost GDP by $5bn and create an additional 300,000 jobs by 2040. The completion of the Coral Sea Cable System and the National Transmission Network is integral to ushering in a new era in which digital technology can help address PNG’s development and financial inclusion challenges. This is crucial, as an estimated…
Interview:Paul Komboi What steps are being taken to improve both network connectivity and capacity? PAUL KOMBOI: Two projects are under way to help boost Papua New Guinea’s internet capacity and quality. The first stage of the fibre-optic Kumul Submarine Cable Network was finished at the beginning of 2019, connecting Port Moresby to Madang via Alotau, Popondetta and Lae. The marine portion…
With the completion of two undersea fibre-optic cable projects due in the near term, Papua New Guinea’s ICT industry is on the cusp of significant change. The new infrastructure should bring down costs, improve internet speed and reliability, and galvanise the ICT sector through the proliferation of digital and cloud-computing industries. Internet costs in PNG are among the highest in the region,…
With the completion of two undersea fibre-optic cable projects due in the near term, Papua New Guinea’s ICT industry is on the cusp of significant change. The new infrastructure should bring down costs, improve internet speeds and reliability, and galvanise the ICT sector through the proliferation of digital and cloud-computing industries. Internet costs in PNG are among the highest in the region,…
Papua New Guinea has seen a mixed performance over the last 12 months, with the extractive industries recovering from the impact of the 2018 earthquake, while political uncertainty contributed to fluctuating investor confidence. It remains to be seen to what extent Prime Minister James Marape and his recently reshuffled government will enact far-reaching reforms to laws and regulations governing t
