Monthly Archives: September 2011

Reading between the mobile lines

FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011

 

By JONATHAN FARAPO
THE recent acquisition of local ISP provider DataNets by the mercurial Digicel Group could be the feather in the hat for its local mobile operator as the company looks to upgrade its existing mobile services to third generation telephony, commonly referred to as 3G.
With the advent of mobile phone technology in the past 20 years and its introduction in the last 10 years to the wider urban and rural Papua New Guinea populace local consumers will no longer be content with just phone calls and text messages.
The introduction of the mobile internet service, social networks and free email accounts means business and pleasure will only be a tap away via your mobile phone.
But what’s the story behind this recent turn of events in PNG’s mobile phone industry and what will it mean for local consumers.
In its 2010 financial report Digicel Group announced that it had acquired DataNets PNG through a share buy-out, although the acquisition was down played according to some savvy net users it has paved the way for the establishment of 3G services for mobile phones in PNG.
One Digicel executive who wished to remain anonymous claims the acquisition could mean a comparative advantage for the mobile company.
This could hold true given PNG’s own telecommunications regulator NICTA has three license categories one which includes Digicel as an ICT Service Provider and DataNets as an ICT Network Provider.
Basically, that would mean Digicel holds a comparative advantage in the market place similarly to that of part nationally owned bemobile, however the downside is that Digicel will still pay Telikom for use of its internet gateway in PNG.
Almost like an answer to the avid mobile internet user’s prayers Digicel PNG’s recent broadband announcement will give consumers access to a form of mobile phone technology only available through overseas operators and even more importantly at an affordable price which appears to be easily accessible.
According to a statement by the mobile operator released this Friday (06/04/2011) the new mobile broadband service is PNG’s ultimate internet solution with high speed access, mobility, control and true value.
The local mobile king pin says 3G is the very latest in innovation and Digicel’s Broadband will greatly improve connectivity within PNG and is underpinned by Digicel’s commitment to best value, best network, best service and best innovation.
“No more cables or wires required, high speed 3G Broadband access will now be available through a range of convenient solutions to meet the needs of business people on the go or internet surfers seeking the coolest entertainment, social networking and latest news,” a statement from Digicel said.
Even Digicel’s top boss, chief executive offier John Mangos joined the hype by declaring that Digicel’s broad band will probably set the mobile house on fire.
“Digicel continues to lead the way in communications in PNG and our Digicel Broadband solution will provide customers with unrivalled convenience, high speed access and great value broadband internet connectivity. We believe that Digicel broadband will provide a major boost to business within PNG as well as significantly increasing internet penetration within the country. Recent research from CESifo* suggests that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration can help to raise annual per capita GDP growth by 0.9 to 1.5 percentage points. With Digicel Broadband, the possibilities are endless.”
DataNets now have a bigger role to play in the internet market that is not limited to acting and maintaining its function as an ICT network provider that will most definitely involve reaping the benefits of PNG’s fastest growing mobile network.
*CESifo Group, made up of the Center for Economic Studies (CES) and the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and the CESifo GmbH (Munich Society for the Promotion of Economic Research) is a research group unique in Europe in the area of economic research.

Why all the hype over Citifon

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

 

Say Yello! In a bid to stifle color domination the national teleco is ready to paint the town

 

WELL if Telikom thought they could pull the wool over our eyes their gravely mistaken. The recent launch of their latest attempt at securing a place in the mobile market could fall flat on its face well before the horses leave the blocks.
The national teleco’s new mobile phone service “Citifon” is sleek and apparently funky but fails to impress when it comes to addressing the market it’s supposedly targeting.
Existing mobile phone operators’ bemobile and Digicel have more or less secured the internet markets ( in particular PNG’s generation Y) with their current internet and data connectivity products but the important aspect of all of this is their ability to grant access in their mobile phones.
Telikom’s “Citifon” lacks that edge even after all the yellow paints fades executive management have unconvincingly offered that there’s no internet access in the current set of handsets only through them with this first line of phone handsets acting only as modems.
Telikom’s chief commercial officer Ajay Mathur offered that the new brand would target young Papua new Guineans across the country and the service would initially be available in the cities and will gradually expand across the interiors of the country where CDMA coverage exists.
“It aims at providing value-for-money products and services for the people of PNG and at the same time allowing them to keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues,” Mr. Mathur said.
For the time being Telikom could be forgiven for thinking that offering a new mobile service centered on internet access to a mobile market that is predominately based in the rural areas is viable.
But maybe the growing urban mobile market will prove the doc wrong and the country’s national teleco will triumph in an area it has so miserably failed to address in the past.

UPNG braces for major developments towards 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2011

 

BY the Year 2015, the University of Papua New Guinea will not be the same. To the extent where it won’t be recognizable because of infrastructure and environmental developments that will take place to prepare it as the Pacific Games Village. Vice Chancellor Professor Ross Hynes said at UPNG’s 56th graduation last Friday that the institution has creative plans for developing its land which it may lose if not used. “We have a Master Plan for the whole site, which will take us as a Tertiary Learning and Research institution effectively into the future,” he announced. The development plan includes 10 new halls of residence for 3,000 people, seven international standard sports facilities, and a Great Hall with a capacity of 3,000, in addition to the already approved and funded new Law and Science 4 buildings. Some major projects are also being initiated.The development of an international standard capacity for Internet Broadband will enable the University to communicate effectively with all its regional centres. “This will greatly strengthen our capacity to use to advantage modern educational techniques such as teleconferencing, multi-casting, and web-based education programs,” Prof. Hynes said. The construction of institutional houses has commenced at Gerehu on university land and at the Taurama campus. Prof. Hynes also announced that UPNG’s business arm, UniVentures in partnership with leading Korean ICT company, Samchang, has started assembling LCD TV monitors and laptops. The company is branching into security services, printing and press, and real estate development. “Increasingly we are thinking more globally, establishing international relationship and generally making the university an exciting academic place to be,” Prof. Hynes said. He said UPNG now has a con-joint agreement with the James Cook University for doctoral degrees where students from both universities can study between the two campuses. Prof. Hynes stressed the need for good partnerships in these exciting and important ventures and announced UPNG’s intention to work positively and effectively with the national government and other government levels and private enterprise. In 2008 a major infrastructure rehabilitation project was carried out and this focused on much needed work on lecture rooms and certain laboratories, residential halls, institutional houses and essential capital equipment. This project was funded by the national government and coordinated through the Office of Higher Education. “We offer our heartfelt thanks for the outstanding contribution of the Somare-Abal government and for the confidence in the university to professionally manage the development of our land,” Prof. Hynes said. “While we recognize we have great challenges, the University is beginning to make progress in key result areas of the UPNG Strategic Plan. Student numbers are growing each year, with the number of graduates spread across a very wide spectrum of nationally relevant disciplines.” Prof. Hynes said these positive trends will make a major contribution to empowering and developing the nation through higher education as a key driver in providing professional people for development and nation building. Courtesy of Kairu Laho UPNG Public Relations

 

 

source:http://docspinit.blogspot.com/2011/05/upng-braces-for-major-developments.html