SOEs partner in project

 By HELEN TARAWA

State-owned entities Telikom PNG and PNG Power Ltd (PPL) are undertaking a fibre optic cabling project to link communication network in urban centres.

Telikom chief executive officer Michael Donnelly confirmed the project was in line with the telecommunication network upgrade by Telikom.

He said fibre optic cables hosted on PNG Power lines between Madang and Lae, also known as optical power ground wire, was an activity being carried out under arrangement with PNG Power.

Donnelly said where it was feasible, Telikom cooperated with PPL to use their towers.

“PPL towers are big and transverse through quite difficult terrain, so to build another tower is just economically not feasible and we are just using best practice.

“Basically, the cable sits on PPL’s infrastructure because it’s not in anyone’s interest to build another tower next to a tower just to run one cable.

“Around the world, fibre optic cables sit on power line infrastructure and the envelope of safety that sits around high voltage cables is not unique to PNG. 

“And clearly in PNG where you’ve got very difficult terrain, it makes good business sense that the state leverages the investment already made available if it wants to run another service. 

“In Telikom’s case, it’s a transmission service between two of the big cities – Lae and Madang – using PPL cables.

“It’s owned by PPL but we’re just leasing the capacity.”

Donnelly said in an urban situation, fibre optic cables were put into the ground or put into each of the buildings.

It is standard practice around the world to use power poles to run fibre optic cables, including cables for paid TV, for instance.

The fibre optic cable sits at the top of the power pole, separated from the high voltage electricity cables. 

“Depending on the tower structure and the distance, the cables are hoisted above the power lines, while in urban applications, the cables run below the power lines,” Donnelly said.

“It depends on the terrain and span that dictates whether the cables go above or below the power lines.

“Safety will always be an issue where you’ve got high voltage cables. 

“However, what’s being installed today is installed according to the world’s best practices.

“What we’re doing in PNG is no different from the world standards, even for the electricians working on those cables; it’s a highly complex safety issue. 

“When there’s a break in the service, we cooperate with PPL to make sure that those safety standards are met,” Donnelly said.