Introduction

Telecommunications in Papua New Guinea is the responsibility of Telikom PNG Limited, a 100% government owned company, which replaced the former PTC. Telikom PNG provides public telecommunication services in Papua New Guinea together with it's subsidiaries. Telikom PNG provides a fixed network and cellular services through it's wholly owned subsidiary, Pacific Mobile Communications Limited. Both companies have a monopoly in local, national and international fixed line and mobile. In addition to voice telephony services, other leased data circuits and internet services are retailed to local service providers. Telikom PNG is ear-marked for privatisation in 2002 together with other Government owned institutions.

Telecommunications Network

The telecommunications system in PNG is 100 percent automatic, with international services to 162 countries in the world and domestic to most urban centres. Prior to the establishment of the Gerehu earth station in Port Moresby, the backbone of the network was a series of microwave radio bearers, comprising over 81 microwave links with repeaters on mountaintops. The bearers provide services through 43 telephone exchanges connecting around 62,000 telephone lines (subscribers) and 72,500 terminal instruments (e.g. telephones).

High costs exist in providing PNG's telecommunications system due to a relatively low subscriber base and the high cost of providing terrestrial links (infrastructure). This is compounded by land compensation claims for mountain top microwave repeater sites.

For subscribers beyond the reach of the telephone exchanges, high frequency radio services exist where subscribers call by radio into a number of call centres and are manually assisted (operator assistance) or automatically linked to the PSTN. Overseas calls are provided through submarine circuits or Satellite via the Gerehu Earth Station.

Telikom PNG has invested in converting it's telephone exchanges from analogue to digital. Other plans are to digitize the radio bearer systems primarily to allow greater traffic flow. Alternate routing facilities for the domestic satellite system and improvements in upgrading the transmission technology.

Telecommunication Services

Telikom PNG provides products and services in the voice (telephones) and Data (computer networking)categories. Products and Services offers are as follows:

• Touch Phones

• Digital Key Telephones

• PABX

• Facsimile

• Card and Coin phones

• Radio paging

• Packet Switched Data Network (PSDN)

• Analogue Data Services

• International Trunk Dialling (IDD)

• Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD)

• 180 Toll Free

• System 12 features

• HF, VHF and UHF services

• Satellite services (Domsat and Inmarsat)

• 24 hour Operator Assistance services

• Call Centres (013 and 014)

• VSAT

• Broadband Internet (Coming Soon)