Digicel, bemobile restore services

National, Normal

INTERCONNECTION between mobile phone companies Digicel and bemobile has been restored.
Both companies reached an agreement on Saturday after weeks of dispute which saw Digicel blocking calls by bemobile customers to Digicel users and vice-versa.
On Saturday, bemobile also paid Digicel K6.4 million in outstanding fees for call termination. This had also been an issue which led to blocking of calls by Digicel.
Sources at bemobile said interconnection was fully restored after that.
Communication and Information Minister Patrick Tammur commended bemobile and Digicel for resolving the interconnection issue.
Mr Tammur said in a statement both mobile companies had amicably resolved the contentious issue of liability and Digicel (PNG) had restored mobile-to-mobile communication between the carriers.
He said all parties should be congratulated for their understanding and appreciation of the “public interest” in what was largely a commercial undertaking.
An interconnection agreement between bemobile and Digicel was signed about midday on Saturday, he said.
The parties to the agreement also included Telikom (PNG), Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) and the Communication and Information Department.
Mr Tammur said he would make an announcement on the details of the Digicel-bemobile interconnection agreement at a later date, upon which the agreement will be handed over to ICCC.