Digicel Woos More In PNG
Thousands of Papua New Guineans continue to sign on to the network of the country’s latest mobile phone operator despite ongoing wrangling by government agencies over the validity of its license.
The debate over the legality of the license issued to Irish-owned Digicel has even surfaced in the political arena, with the Somare government coming under fire for “revoking” the license despite a
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“If we are to attract foreign investment, we must make sure that the air of certainty and predictability is there. Once the policies are made, they have to be adhered to and implemented and if there is a change, the change must be discussed openly first before it is affected,” said Sir Mekere Morauta, a former prime minister who is leading a coalition that is currently lobbying to unseat the Somare government.
Sir Mekere and Lae MP Bart Philemon have called on the government to stop protecting the state-owned mobile phone company B-Mobile and allow competition to prosper.
The PNG Radio Communications and Telecommunications Technical Authority (PANGTEL) revoked Digicel’s license last month, saying it took the action "...due to amendments to the Information, Communication and Technologies policy (which rendered) Digicel's license was null and void.”
But Digicel obtained a
“What PANGTEL has done is illegal, I met with the Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare in early March 2007, and he personally gave us the reassurance that our investment and license to operate in this country was protected. The actions of PANGTEL yesterday appear to be very politically motivated. We have the full support of the ICCC (Independent Consumer and Competition Commission). It is business as usual for Digicel,” said
Despite the controversy, thousands of Papua New Guineans continue to flock to Digicel’s retail outlets in PNG’s major cities.
Over 20,000 customers signed on to the company’s network over five days from the opening of its retail outlets on July 20, making it one of the fastest growing mobile operators in the Pacific region.
Newspapers and the radio talkback shows continue to be bombarded with letters and calls by Papua New Guineans protesting the Somare government’s purported moves to shut down Digicel’s operations.
“My basic comparison when I bought my useless Nokia: hand set K230; start-up kit K25 SIM card plus K100 ‘forced’ credits. So I kissed goodbye to the unreliable B-Mobile service, as I had to fork out K355. With Digicel, you only need K89 for the handset and free SIM card plus free K10 credits; in effect, you pay only K79. The difference is mind boggling or you can say day light robbery on the part of B-Mobile,” said Thomas Mila, a Digicel customer.
B-Mobile’s parent company Telikom PNG Ltd maintains that Digicel’s license is illegal and has refused to sign an interconnectivity agreement with the new company, making all Telikom-owned fixed lines and mobile numbers inaccessible to Digicel users.
The ICC has described Telikom’s actions as illegal but Papua New Guineans seem unperturbed by Digicel’s inaccessibility and continue to sign up with the new company.
