BOOSTING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Today, I joined Papua New Guinea Minister for Foreign Affairs the Hon Rimbink Pato OBE MP, Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments Hon William Duma MP, and Vice Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments Hon Tomait Kapili MP, to officially open PNG’s new satellite internet system, a critical investment by Australia which will increase PNG’s internet capacity by approximately 30 per cent.

 

This will benefit Papua New Guineans by reducing barriers to learning, improving private sector capacity and fostering job creation in the long term. In the near term, the project will boost connectivity for APEC meetings in Port Moresby in November.

 

This investment is an important component of Australia’s broader internet connectivity support that includes the Coral Sea Cable System, which will connect Port Moresby and Sydney by a new fibre optic cable scheduled for delivery by late 2019.

 

Australia and Papua New Guinea have committed to working closely together to support the development of PNG’s information and communications technology sector over the next 15 to 20 years.