We need own satellite, says PM

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has placed a high priority on seeking ways to have a national satellite by 2012.
He had already urged Education, Health, Prime Minister’s departments, National Executive Council (NEC), the Royal PNG Constabulary, Pangtel, National Fisheries Authority and the National Mapping Bureau to carry out a feasibility study.
To date, work has been focused on gathering data on information and communications requirements in supporting rural and remote communications requirements.
Telikom’s chief executive officer Peter Loko, who is technical adviser to the project said last Wednesday at the administrators conference in Lae that initial funding of K3million was given for the project this year.
The project’s vision is to empower people in all walks of life to have information.
Mr Loko said given the geography of the country, a satellite with its wide area coverage and faster deployment option, “made it the preferred mode of connectivity” compared to repeater stations and fibre-optics.
Currently the existing transmission infrastructure  for domestic rural communications applications are either non-existent, inadequate, in appropriate and could be costly to facilitate the transportation of information under the PNG Vision 2050.