The Mobile Market in Papua New Guinea Has Enormous Growth Potential
PNG’s telecom sector shifts with Telstra acquisition
The Australian government has been keen to promote itself in the region as part of wider efforts to provide a counterweight to China and to Chinese telcos and vendors. This has had some results thus far, with the government in 2017 having largely financed the Coral Sea Cable linking Australia with PNG and the Solomon Islands. Vocus secured the contract to build the system, neatly addressing the security concerns over the initial choice of Huawei being involved in the cable project.
In mid-2021 the Australian government pressed Telstra to acquire Digicel Pacific, including the latter’s units in Fiji, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. The $1.6 billion deal was agreed in the following October, with Telstra to contribute $270 million and the Australia government making a $1.33 billion contribution via Export Finance Australia (EFA).
