LOOKING back at the telecommunication war between Telikom PNG, Digicel and the public last year, I like to highlight some interesting observations since the introduction of competition.
Before Digicel’s entry, the public had only one choice and that is to use Telikom.
Attending to reported landline faults took ages, sometimes even years. To date, this is still a major problem.
Mobile call rates were very high (they are still higher than Digicel’s) and start-up mobile kits were beyond the ordinary Papua New Guinean.
Telikom’s network continued to be a major problem. The Government was keeping an arm’s length in dealing with Telikom.
Suddenly, the competition door swung open and Papua New Guineans packed Digicel outlets, and they got more than what they expected.
The taste was sweet and the people wanted more but the Government quickly decided to step in to apply more controls just to keep Telikom, the inefficient and ineffective monopoly alive.
Telikom had all the time in the world to improve its performance but instead chose to sit on its heels until the “enemy was at the gate”.
Instead of developing and coming out with innovative measures, Telikom went into defensive mode and developed a new “business strategy” called “copy everything Digicel does but keep the rates high”.
Telikom also developed costly advertisements appealing to PNG nationalist sentiments and remind Papua New Guineans that it has been here for the last 52 years.
Well said but the people are not interested in the number of years Telikom has been here, the people want cheaper, reliable and effective communication services – a cry from all corners of the country!
Competition and Digicel have opened up a new dimension in telecommunications in PNG.
People have tasted competition and now they want more open competition in other sectors too, chief among them airline, electricity, water, etc.
The only appeal from the people is for the ministers concerned and the Government to consider the wishes of the six million people to ensure competition remains and grows.
Please do not stand in the way and deny the people’s rights to cheaper, better and effective services.

Pro-competition
Port Moresby