Network project nearly finished

By JACKLYN SIRIAS

THE national broadband network will increase business engagement with the global economy and create new business models and job opportunities in the country, says a Huawei official.
Huawei Australia government and stakeholder relations manager Brent Hooley said this following an agreement to assist PNG by working with Telikom PNG and PNG DataCo to construct a 5457km national transmission cable network which will run across 14 coastal centres in the country.
The centres include Vanimo, Wewak, Madang, Lae, Popondetta, Alotau, Kerema, Daru, Kimbe, Kavieng, Kokopo, Lorengau, Arawa and Port Moresby.
“Huawei commenced the work on the NBN project in June 2015 and have already completed the fixed broadband upgrade in PNG’s main cities, including Port Moresby, Lae, Hagen and Goroka,” he said.
Hooley said the new network would be capable of delivering broadband to more than 80,000 premises across the country.
“The high speed wireless broadband (3G/4G) network has now been rolled out to most of the main cities and 95 per cent of the project is planned to be completed by the end of 2017,” he said.
Hooley told The National that communities would greatly benefit from affordable and reliable access to better connectivity and mobile broadband.
“Businesses will increase their engagement with the global economy, create innovative business models, and create new job opportunities,” he said.