ICT
From The Report: Papua New Guinea 2018
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While still lagging behind many of its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region, the ICT sector in Papua New Guinea has seen significant progress in recent years, which has helped ensure expansion of coverage and offerings. An increase in sector investment has helped both local and international companies expand into rural areas, while telecoms providers have also been able to bring more affordable and faster services to a greater share of the population. However, isolated parts of this large and sparsely populated country are still having difficulties in achieving connectivity. To address these challenges the government is looking to improve infrastructure in rural communities and upgrade the mobile data network from 3G to 4G in more parts of the country.

This chapter contains an interview with Jacky Xu Qiang, CEO, Huawei Pacific.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Getting up to speed: Technology upgrades and increased competition are expected to bring improved services to consumers
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While still lagging behind many of its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region, the ICT sector in Papua New Guinea has seen significant progress in recent years, which has helped ensure expansion of coverage and offerings. An increase in sector investment has helped both local and international companies expand into rural areas, while telecoms providers have also been able to bring more affordable and faster services to a greater share of the population. However, isolated parts of this large and sparsely…

Interview

A reliable connection: Jacky Xu Qiang, CEO, Huawei Pacific, on the need for a more integrated digital highway and a better business environment
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Interview:Jacky Xu Qiang, CEO, Huawei Pacific How would you characterise the competitiveness of Papua New Guinea’s ICT sector? JACKY XU QIANG: In terms of ICT, PNG is an emerging market. You can find the best and newest technology here, like anywhere else, however Papua New Guineans started to use IT only recently. Therefore, the requirements are different. Papua New Guineans need 100-Mbps download speed, while in Japan and Malaysia, they need around 400 Mbps. Penetration and coverage are…

Analysis

Linking up: A subsea cable connecting the country to Australia and the Solomon Islands is set to boost internet speeds and capacity
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Despite a wave of investments and advances in ICT infrastructure, internet speeds in Papua New Guinea are still among the slowest in the Asia-Pacific region. The average download speed is 4.28 Mbps, which compares poorly with 20.9 Mbps in New Zealand and 39.33 Mbps in Australia. New Infrastructure Needed In addition to a widely varied landscape that has made infrastructure construction somewhat difficult, these slow speeds are largely due to much of PNG’s internet infrastructure being…

Analysis

In it together: Three state-owned firms join forces to boost market competition
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The arrival of Jamaica-based telecoms firm Digicel in 2007 was a game-changer for Papua New Guinea’s ICT sector. The country’s internet penetration rate rose from just 1% at the time to 11.7% in 2016, while the mobile phone penetration rate also jumped considerably, from 1% in 2005 to nearly 50% in 2017. Dominant Force Digicel’s aggressive growth has helped the company dominate the industry, with an estimated 94% market share in the mobile sector in 2016. In contrast, its closest…

Analysis

Chain reaction: Fostering an enabling environment for blockchain development to boost financial inclusivity
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New blockchain solutions and devices are being trialled in Papua New Guinea as part of the government and central bank’s efforts to foster greater financial inclusion. A number of initiatives are already under way as global tech firms move to develop the country. Additionally, as many APEC member counties also experience low financial inclusion rates, the country’s adoption of blockchain technology in financial technology (fintech) solutions could serve as an example for the wider region,…