By ESWIN PLESIO
PAPUA New Guinea is set for a major expansion of telecommunications infrastructure, with Vodafone PNG and Telikom PNG targeting a combined 1,800 mobile towers across the country.
Vodafone currently operates about 810 towers and plans to add another 160 by the end of this year, bringing it closer to its target of 1,000 towers.
Telikom, which currently operates about 500 towers, plans to roll out another 300 next year to reach its target of 800 towers.
The expansion comes as the two operators begin working together under a landmark Co-Location and Network-Sharing Agreement, allowing them to share towers, fibre and other telecommunications infrastructure.
Telikom chief executive officer Amos Tepi described the agreement as a “historic first” for PNG’s telecommunications industry, saying infrastructure sharing would help the companies reach more communities faster.
He said the partnership builds on an interconnection agreement signed in 2022, which allowed subscribers on both networks to call and text each other.
“Papua New Guinea is not an easy country to connect,” Mr Tepi said, referring to the country’s mountainous terrain, islands and widely scattered communities.
He said sharing infrastructure would help improve network coverage and reliability while reducing duplication, capital expenditure and operating costs.
The companies have also agreed to remove interconnection charges between their networks by moving to a “bill and keep” arrangement, which Mr Tepi said would provide greater value to subscribers.
The rollout is expected to improve access to mobile banking, online education, digital government services, e-commerce and other digital platforms, particularly in rural and remote communities.
Vodafone and Telikom currently have about 1,310 towers combined. Their planned targets of 1,000 and 800 towers respectively would increase the combined network by about 490 towers.
Implementation will be carried out in phases as technical teams from both companies work through the sites involved.