Kumul Telikom Holdings focuses on intergrated telco

The National Business

By PETER ESILA
KUMUL Telikom Holdings (KTH) Ltd managing director Paul Hyde says 2019 will be the year of fightback and the start of growth of an integrated telco for Papua New Guinea.
He said during the 2019 leaders’ summit in Port Moresby yesterday that there were projects and initiatives to create a 21st century integrated telco for the country.
These are:

  • Utilise and develop human resources to drive high performance by rationalising management burden and reducing overheads;
  • Design a fit-for-future organisation and the assess capabilities of all staff and train to competence;
  • Establish KTH to enable the group to reduce costs, compete with Digicel and become self-sustaining by reducing costs through shared services, providing common asset use where appropriate, reduce fixed costs through vendor contract negotiation with key suppliers and reduce unnecessary or non-essential costs;
  • Focus on the customers and generate revenue by better utilising existing infrastructure, national branding, focusing marketing efforts and working as a single cohesive business, with improved commercial capability;
  • Roll out of 700MHz 4G sites to marginal locations and focus 4G connectivity in the main urban centres, with Wi-Fi offload; and
  • Fix capital structure and cash position by leveraging non-core assets and restructuring obligations. Assets to be sold include EMTV, and Telikom property.

“KTH will resume the role of national carrier, delivering effective and efficient telco services,” Hyde said.
“By creating KTH, Government of PNG has sent a strong signal that it is time for the ICT sector to perform, and the telecommunications SOEs (State-owned enterprises) to fulfil their obligations to the public and economy as the spark of change and an enabler of enrichment and prosperity.”