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| Telikom PNG has the right to operate as the only telecommunications company in the country until 2007 |
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TATE-owned
telecommunications company, Telikom PNG was scheduled to be sold off
to the private sector by the previous government. The current government,
however, judged it a core national asset that was in danger of being
offloaded for less than its real value, and promptly reversed the process.
The company is now in line for partial privatisation and is a far healthier
prospect in terms of its efficiency and its finances. Thus the government’s
decision to hold off and rehabilitate before seeking a private partner
has proved justified.
The aim has been to improve both the performance of Telikom PNG and its asset value, and the company’s strong performance to date is exactly what the government had been hoping for. Telikom’s profit for last year was in excess of £8 million, after paying a dividend to the government and reducing debt run up in the 1990’s.
Dr
Florian Gubon, Telikom
PNG’s Chairman, believes there is still plenty of scope for improvement,
however. “Telikom can become better than it is today and we can
make the changes that are necessary to improve the financial state of
the company. There is no doubt in my mind that we can achieve that,
we just need time,” he says.
There are plans to bring in foreign consultants to help make sure the
networks are operating well, solve problems and further improve management.
Telikom PNG operates a fixed network and provides a cellular service and internet access through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pacific Mobile Communications.
The difficult terrain of PNG’s highlands, valleys and islands makes installing telecommunications infrastructure a difficult and costly enterprise. Dr Gubon says, “For the moment, our efforts are concentrated on the provincial capitals, but we are very keen to spread communication to the rural areas.”
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The
company launched its mobile network last May, and the challenge now
is to expand it to other major centres.
“The mobile service can penetrate into areas where we cannot provide
fixed line services,” says Dr Gubon. “It complements the fixed
line services we provide in the city, but it does more than that. It
is a new product, it is prepaid and anybody can go and buy one.”
Telikom PNG’s other main priority is to replace the ageing sea cable between PNG and Australia that carries the island’s major international link from Port Moresby to Cairns.
Dr Gubon says, “We have highly trained engineers compared to other developing countries. A lot of our staff have been trained overseas in Australia, the United States and the UK. There are also trainee programmes carried out by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) that many of our staff have undergone. So we do have the skill and manpower to take care of the network.”
Telikom has the right to operate as the only telecommunication company in PNG until 2007. Dr Gubon regards the prospect of deregulation as a challenge rather than a problem. “It should be a good thing,”he says. “Competition always puts the price down, and it’s good for the customers.”
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