Denis Opudo
Ivan Pomaleu, the APEC Ambassador, said that information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Papua New Guinea is less developed. But he added that the sector has the potential to drive impressive economic growth. He said that the PNG’s ICT sector is less developed compared to many of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. He welcomed delegates on 4th June to the APEC telecommunications and information working group summit. The summit is taking place in Port Moresby.
According to Pomaleu, the PNG government noted the fact that ICT had a great potential to drive significant economic growth in the country. It also realized that it could benefit citizens a lot. It was in a position to revolutionize the delivery of government services. The government has gone ahead to take some initiatives to improve the country’s ICT sector. The government has laid down a new international submarine cable. The cable runs between Sydney and Port Moresby, and it is in the scoping stage. The cable is expected to improve global connectivity at a higher percentage.
The government has also laid down a domestic submarine cable. It will link Port Moresby to eleven other centers in the country. Plans are underway to interconnect the cable to Indonesia. This will help improve connectivity and increase availability across PNG. Moreover, the government put up a neutral Internet Exchange Point in 2017. The point was established in Port Moresby after development for three years. In February this year, the government created PNG’s computer emergency response. It was built with an aim to attend to cyber-security challenges. The government is still in the process of addressing connectivity challenges. It is doing that by using universal access programs. Additionally, the government has transformed its telecommunication assets. The government has emerged the DataCo, bmobile and Telikom PNG.
According to Pomelu, the government is continuing with the development of infrastructure, rolling out of services and uptake. But gaps are still there in the legal and policy frameworks. The gaps need to guide, support and offer a safe and secure environment for the citizens to get and use ICT for their development. The summit will come to an end on 8th June.
