Free radio services sought for rural areas

COMMUNITY service-oriented organisations in remote areas might use free radio and communication frequency, Minister for Communication and Information Jim Miringtoro said.
Miringtoro was responding to a question by Eastern Highlands Governor Malcolm Kela-Smith on whether the government, through the National Information and Communication Technology Authority (NICTA), exempted church groups serving remote communities from paying VHF and communication licence fees.
Smith said most isolated communities in PNG depended on VHF radio communication and asked if they could be exempted from paying radio spectrum licences and other fees.
He said organisations in his province such as the Mission Aviation Fellowship, New Tribes Mission and Seventh-Day Adventist served rural communities and yet paid more for licences and fees as they operated charity air transport.
Miringtoro said he felt sorry for the disadvantaged and marginalised groups because communication with the outside world was difficult.
However, he said all licences and fees were regulated by NICTA with their own policies. But, he could meet with the board to see if the organisations serving remote communities were exempted from paying fees or to have them reduced.