Submarine network aims to improve communication

By CLARISSA MOI
THE Kumul submarine cable network (KSCN) project is expected to be completed by June, according PNG DataCo Ltd managing director Paul Komboi.
Speaking during the landing of the KSCN in Wewak, East Sepik, on Friday, Komboi said the project was about setting a foundation for the communication carriers such as Telikom, Digicel and bmobile to improve communication around the country making it faster, reliable and cheaper.
The cable laying vessel MV Ile de Re landed system 1 of the KSCN in Vanimo last month, moved onto Wewak which landed on Friday and will move onto Manus and the rest of the New Guinea Islands.
“Wewak has now witnessed the landing of this communication highway,” Komboi said.
“We will leave it to the provincial and district administration as well as other parties to transfer this service and make it available to the people.”
He said Dataco was working with partners such as the National Broadcasting Corporation where the cables were landed at the venues, Post PNG Ltd, PNG Power Ltd, Huawei Technology Ltd and Kumul Telikom Holdings Ltd.
Provinces they would still need to reach include Manus, New Ireland, West New Britain, East New Britain, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Gulf and Western.
Komboi said the Highlands region was completed except Tari, Hela.
He said the fibre optic cable was transferred using PNG Power Ltd’s transmission line in Mendi, Wabag, Mt Hagen, Chimbu, Goroka and Kudjip (WHP).
“We will try to complete this project by mid-year.”
Komboi said work was yet to be done to ensure the cable was activated in Wewak for the people to use the service.
He encouraged the locals to look after the national asset as it would benefit them and the future generations.
Meanwhile, Ambunti-Drekikir MP Johnson Wapunai acknowledged PNG Dataco and the Government on the infrastructure that landed on their shores.
“This project will benefit our children in the future. The service provided by this infrastructure will be also for the benefit of our province,” he said.
The KSCN project is funded through a concessional loan from the Exim Bank of China and is one of the two projects under the National Transmission Network operated by Dataco. It features 5,457km of internet cable to provide the domestic internet platform to link 14 provinces and the national data centres in Port Moresby and Madang.
It will connect with Indonesia’s national backbone submarine cable network.