Communications vital for growth

THE Government’s rural communication project is very important to the people in the rural and remote areas of PNG.
This project has the potential to deliver basic information and communication services to the people which could change their livelihoods.
Since its declaration in March 2011 by World Bank, the project had been progressing well.
This was evident in the installation and deliverance of 59 cell towers covering four regions of the country by Digicel who was awarded the contract through an open and competitive tender process for one of the RCP component called Voice Telephony Project.
I have tried to figure out what is the progress and the immediate impacts in the rural communities in terms of development and access to basic information and communication services.
I know that the objective of Rural Communication Project is to expand access to telecommunications infrastructure and services in rural and remotes areas of the country.
This is consistent with the overarching goal of MTDS 2011-15 and Long Term Development Plan 2010-30 to have communication service coverage and internet throughout PNG by 2030.
I believe communication services are vital for the people in the rural areas because through communication they can be able to access information about health, economics, politics and other information services.
I am pleased that the voice telephony project is providing 2G with possible upgrading is needed to provide 3G and 4G broadband internet services which is yet to be installed or rolled out.
Today, information needs to deliver to the rural people in the country to educate them of the current development trends so that they can make informed decisions.
When people are aware of what is going on, what the government is doing, they will feel part of the globalised community.
Since information and communication services remain one of the important needs, it is good that our Government improves communication services with such project through effective implementation to ensure everyone is accessing it.
I believe in information and communication as a way forward for development to reach out because information is communicated using technologies, it influences and causes changes to the end users.

Sky Bobeng
UPNG, Waigani