The two new players in Papua New Guinea’s TV industry this week began selling their set top boxes as they launched a total of 54 new free-to-air and pay channels.

Click TV’s Engineering Manager; Reenal Deo; PNG’s Minister for Finance James Marape and MD Richard Broadbridge.

Global telecommunications giant Digicel this week launched Digicel Play, which will offer 29 channels by the end of 2014, while the new entrant to the PNG market, Click TV, launched its own set top box, which will offer 25 channels through its local network, PNG TV.

The development reflects a radical change in the media landscape, which sees Digicel’s main competitor, Telikom PNG, currently undertaking due diligence ahead of its expected purchase of free-to-air commercial broadcaster, Fiji TV-owned EMTV.

Digicel’s John Mangos

The content each new player is offering is markedly different, as it their method of delivery.

‘We enter the TV market with a mission to provide the best content and an affordable means of accessing it-nationwide,’ Digicel CEO John Mangos said at the official launch last week.

‘What’s more, from now until mid-January we will offer all customers free access to all channels.’

Programming

Digicel Play’s programming range includes British Premier League [sic], CNN, MTV Asia, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, History, and Deutsche Welle International News. Its free-to-air channel, TVWAN, offers SBS News Australia and the ABC children’s show, Bananas in Pyjamas.

PNG TV offerings feature live and delayed High Definition sport, including the next year’s Pacific Games, as well as TVNZ news and a range of educational and religious content from Hope Channel to the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

‘Our business model is based on certain fundamentals and one of them is more religious, more educational content,’ Click TV Managing Director, Richard Broadbridge told Business Advantage PNG.

’What we want to do is be a profitable business, we simply don’t have the capital or distribution platforms to make us the biggest.’

‘We have a strong relationship with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and that will be providing to us a certain element of local content where we want to provide more religious, more educational content, especially for rural PNG.

‘It’s never been our vision to be the market leader.

‘But we also have certain relationships with other distributors,’ he says.

‘We have interests in Fiji so there’s a lot content sitting in Melanesia, that’s already being produced that we would like to bring into the market.

’What we want to do is be a profitable business, we simply don’t have the capital or distribution platforms to make us the biggest.

‘What’s more, from now until mid-January we will offer all customers free access to all channels.’

While Digicel is primarily using its mobile phone towers to reach its audiences, PNG TV has signed a five-year deal with Intelsat to beam its programmes not just across PNG but the Pacific.

Viewer access

‘Right now,’ says Click TV Managing Director, Richard Broadbridge, ‘if you go into any part of the Highlands you need very large dishes to get local content.

‘To get international content you need a separate dish for the international channels. But our commercial model is based on the ability to compress about 30 channels into a one-metre receiver dish.

Broadbridge also intends subleasing mobile phone towers from state-owned wholesaler PNG DataCo, which is taking over the transmission assets of Telikom PNG.

‘Currently in Port Moresby, we have one tower and we are co-locating with Telikom on two others.

‘We are rolling out co-location with Telikom on two towers in Lae in February. So it’s highly likely the future of our business is based on co-location.

‘There’s no point in spending capital on towers, when we can spend it on good local content,’ he says.

Local ownership

Digicel PNG’s head office in Port Moresby

Broadbridge is also talking to local investors and expects Click TV to be majority PNG-owned during 2015. There is talk of government will introducing foreign media ownership laws into parliament over the coming months which will restrict foreign owners.

‘Currently the company is owned by two Fijian citizens and we talking to institutional investors right now. That will also see capital injection of around K21 million into Click TV.’

Pacific broadcasting

Broadbridge intends making use of the opportunity afforded by the Intellsat-19 satellite to provide programming across the Pacific. And he intends accessing programming from Pacific nations for use on PNG TV.

‘You need PNG’s numbers to justify further capital expansion. In Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, the numbers are just too small to justify any sort of investment like this.

‘You take on the incumbents but copying their business model simply won’t work. So we needed the potential of 300,000 to 400,000 subscribers in PNG to justify at least some stable income to go to the rest of the Pacific.’

‘But our major focus is PNG. We are a PNG company and that’s our priority.’

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Telecommunications wholesaler PNG DataCo Limited has been set up as part of a restructure of Papua New Guinea’s telecommunications industry. Business Advantage PNG discusses its critical role with its Chairman Reuben Kautu, an entrepreneur with a strong background of commercial and strategic management, developed during roles with BP, ExxonMobil and, more recently, Telikom PNG’s subsidiary Kalang Advertising Limited.

PNG DataCo’s Reuben Kautu

Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): What is the role of PNG DataCo?

Reuben Kautu (RK): DataCo is an initiative of the government to restructure the current telecommunications assets to provide wholesale-only infrastructure and telecommunication services to retailers, who will then on-sell to end users.

The underlying objective of the government is to push competition across the retail telecommunications sector by upgrading, building, owning and operating the National Transmission Network (NTN) and making it available to ICT operators at the wholesale level only.  This will eventually provide an effective wholesale infrastructure that is reliable and cost-effective for the people of PNG. Telecommunications prices are set to reduce substantially once all these changes are in place.

The country is faced with vertically integrated structure currently under Telikom PNG that has its disadvantages in a competitive and changing environment. The new structure supports rationalising government investment in the costly wholesale infrastructure while allowing greater competition in the retail segment of the market, thus offering choice to the business community and the entire population. Information is the key for everyone and for the development of this country.

‘The Government … has already announced for PNG DataCo to partner with Interchange Limited to build ICN-2 cable, or the Melanesian Cable, from Port Moresby to Vanuatu via Solomon Islands.’

The structure going forward is that DataCo will be the wholesale infrastructure and capacity provider, including capacity on submarine cables, satellites and microwave. It will take one-to-three years to make the Government’s vision a reality, although some services can be transferred immediately, such as international submarine cables and other domestic cable assets.

BAPNG: What is happening with PNG’s fibre optic broadband network?

RK: We (DataCo) have now commenced work to connect the fibre optic broadband link from Hides to Port Moresby built by the developers of the PNG LNG project to Lae and Madang via Yonki, Kainantu, Goroka, Kundiawa, Kudjip, Mt. Hagen, Mendi, Wabag and Tari. DataCo also has plans to extend fibre connectivity to Wewak and Vanimo and to the New Guinea islands as well.

BAPNG: What are your options with the ageing submarine cable between Port Moresby and Sydney?

RK: The APNG-2 cable has served its time and is currently operating at 80% of its available capacity.

Since the inception of DataCo, this issue became a real concern that needs to be addressed immediately. We understand the need to replace the existing cable to Sydney. We’re faced with two options in the route we take to build, considering the length of the route, the dollars required to invest and the availability of funds.

The routes considered were either: to build a new cable connecting to Sydney replacing the existing cable or to partner with our Melanesian neighbours Vanuatu and Solomon to provide a cost effective solution to meet our international cable needs. Both were commercially viable options and my role was to provide these options to the government to consider and make the final decision. The government will obviously consider other benefits that are associated with each option.

There is also already PPC-1 cable, which runs from Madang to Guam and Madang to Sydney, which is currently under utilised, even though Telikom PNG had to buy capacity up front for a period of 15 years, of which only 10 years remain. The issue of under utilisation can be addressed by providing national connectivity to Madang, of which connectivity to Lae and Port Moresby is critical, as bulk of the international traffic and internet data is generated in or intended to be terminated in this main centres.

With DataCo’s creation, we are now working to connect and provide a complete loop from Madang right through the highlands down via the PNG LNG fibre optic cable to connect to Port Moreby. This link will ensure that this traffic or internet data can be re-routed to Madang and out, increasing the utilisation on the PPC-1 Cable.

BAPNG: When do you expect a decision to be made on the replacement submarine cable?

RK: The Government, through the Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments, has already announced for PNG DataCo to partner with Interchange Limited to build ICN-2 cable, or the Melanesian Cable, from Port Moresby to Vanuatu via Solomon Islands.

‘With the restructure of the SOE’s providing ICT services and their infrastructure assets, I believe we can eliminate the duplications and take advantage of the synergies’

The contract with the vendor has already been signed and the partnership deal is awaiting preconditions to be met by the end of January 2015 before the project starts.  This partnership is strategic for PNG, as it brings other commercial benefits to PNG state-owned entities and private enterprises to expand their services (banking, airlines, insurance and tourism services) to our Melanesian neighbours. This cable, once completed, will offer substantial reductions in wholesale pricing, so we expect this reduction to be passed on to the end users by the ICT retail service providers.

BAPNG:  So what is the future of the Guam link? What role will it have in PNG’s future telecommunications infrastructure?

RK: Connecting to Guam is a critical link for PNG as it provides redundancy and diversity. This link provides the PNG telcos with the choice or option to negotiate international termination rates or IP transit arrangements with international carriers up north. It also provides the connectivity to US and Asia through Guam.

BAPNG: There appears to be a lot of duplication of infrastructure in the telecommunications field. How are you intending to minimise that?

RK: What Digicel is doing is similar to what Telikom has been doing up until now. We are building the infrastructure and we are encouraging and inviting the retailers like Telikom, bemobile, Digicel, and other ISPs to come on board. They have a choice to build their own infrastructure in some areas but we are determined to provide international and domestic capacity services at competitive rates.

It is a numbers game and, with the mergers and acquisitions happening in the ICT market in PNG, the government has now decided to rationalise and restructure its critical assets parked under various SOE’s and organizations. DataCo has been formed with this plan to take on wholesale assets and provide non-discriminatory and innovative appropriate wholesale only services. This effort should then minimize the duplications in the wholesale infrastructure and drive up the utilisation of this wholesale infrastructure and, in turn, reducing the unit cost of building and running such wholesale infrastructures.

BAPNG: How would you describe the telecommunications system in PNG, once the new structure is in place?

RK: With the restructure of the SOE’s providing ICT services and their infrastructure assets, I believe we can eliminate the duplications and take advantage of the synergies that we have to address the Government’s policy objectives around access to all at affordable prices for the people of PNG and the business community.

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Australians and Pacific Islanders living in Australia will be able to watch the 2015 Pacific Games in the comfort of their own home, after the Games Organising Committee awarded the Australian broadcast rights to the National Indigenous Television (NITV).

Games Organising Committee CEO, Peter Stewart (l) with NITV commentator, Mark Ella.

NITV is a channel managed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and is part of the SBS output on Channel 34.

It will also have non-exclusive online rights within Australia.

Former rugby union great Mark Ella will provide specialist commentary alongside sports broadcaster, Evan Charlton.

The Games run from 4 to 18 July, 2015. The Games will be preceded on 2 July by a one-day Pacific Investment Seminar, to be co-hosted by the port moresby Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Business Advantage International.

Games Organising Committee  Executive Manager, Clint Flood, says NITV’s national links to indigenous people in Australia and Torres Straight Islands provides an additional cultural link to the Pacific Games.

NITV joins NBC, Click TV, EMTV, Solomon TV, Fiji One TV, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Vanuatu television and Broadcast Corporation, Samoa Quality Broadcast Corporation, Cook Islands TV, France TV and Solomon Telekom Television Ltd as broadcast rights holders.

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Information and telecommunications technology can be a driver of new jobs and business efficiency in Papua New Guinea. Technology specialist Priscilla Kevin tells Business Advantage PNG of her own venture into the ICT business and suggests how others might follow.

In4net’s Priscilla Kevin

‘Priscilla Kevin is one of the younger generation of PNG entrepreneurs,’ notes Paul Barker, Executive Director of the Institute of National Affairs in Port Moresby, ‘and one of an even smaller group of confident and worldly women entrepreneurs, who has stepped into the traditionally male enclave of engineering and ICT [information and communications technology].’

Kevin runs a Port Moresby-based ICT consultancy, In4net, which she set up in 2013. It now provides ICT management and advisory services, financial business data analysis and general consulting services to around 20 companies.

New industry

‘When I was at the National High, before I chose computer science, I was offered a scholarship to be a pilot. But I was very interested in computer science,’ says Priscilla.

‘It was a new industry,’ she tells Business Advantage PNG.

‘The ICT industry has great potential, but the environment in which it operates needs to be looked at.

‘We are in the knowledge era and the internet and ICT is very new to the country, just over 10 years old, so there is great interest in the ICT industry as a career.’

Much of the sector’s unharnessed potential is in the rural sector, where electricity often doesn’t exist and the cost of internet access is high.

‘Rural people don’t have access to basic key information to enable them to grow their communities to develop their communities.

‘Power is just one of the bigger challenges, especially for businesses. They can’t use ICT because of the power, the high cost of the internet.’

Cluster

Last year, Kevin participated in the European Union’s Business Climate program, which brought together ICT specialists in PNG to ‘to create collaboration, connect with government and the private sector.’ [It was one of four such clusters in the Pacific—the others were in Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu.]

A major barrier to developing a culture of entrepreneurship in PNG, she says, is the cost of starting up a new business.

An outcome of the cluster work has been to begin talks with the national government on creating an Intellectual Property Rights (IP) law.

‘We’re saying there is potential for PNGs to invent and innovate but we don’t have any IP protection in PNG,’ says Kevin.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Other initiatives include advocating tax incentives for ICT SMEs, reducing internet costs, and promoting entrepreneurship, mentorship and venture capital market opportunities for PNG businesses.

‘There has a lot of focus on entrepreneurship and last year we started up our first entrepreneurship training with Australian Business Volunteers. It involves one month’s training mentorship.

‘We’re trying to create an entrepreneurial spirit.’

Challenges

The PNG Government currently legislating to encourage the development of small business. A major barrier to developing a culture of entrepreneurship in PNG, Kevin thinks, is the cost of starting up a new business.

‘The major cost is rent. Real estate is really expensive and so is Internet cost, but it is also difficult to promote who you are, and what you do.’

Over the next 12 months, Kevin wants to grow her business and that highlights another challenge for entrepreneurs—access to funding.

‘Startups do not always have the much-needed capital to accelerate an idea,’ notes Kevin.

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The new CEO of Digicel PNG believes the company is evolving into a provider of content as well as supplying connectivity. Maurice McCarthy tells Business Advantage PNG his first priority is to increase access to Digicel’s expanded network.

Digicel’s Maurice McCarthy

Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): In Fiji, you built up Digicel’s corporate business as well as its retail structure. What are your priorities in PNG?

Maurice McCarthy (MMcC): In line with Digicel’s global approach, we in Papua New Guinea aim to remove boundaries and deliver the best service, best value, best network and the best products and services to consumers and businesses alike.

As part of this, we are heavily investing in data networks, as we recognise that data services are such an important part of every economy in every country.

Our expansions included a significant investment in our data network, with additional 3G+ and LTE (4G Long Term Evolution) sites now available in Port Moresby and in Lae.

The improved data services in these areas offer increased bandwidth and greater speeds. We also invested significantly to expand our network to areas previously not covered. Now there are an additional 300 new mobile communication sites, offering voice and data services to connect previously isolated communities to the rest of the world for the very first time.

In 2015, we are focusing on using this expanded footprint to provide an improved customer experience, offering reliable access to world-class products and services for all people from the Highlands to the New Guinea Islands and beyond.

BAPNG: Are you happy with current pricing levels?

MMcC: When you look at where we began and then contrast it to where we are now, you can clearly see that services are now more affordable, accessible and reliable.

We’ve extended our network and our reach and launched a whole range of value-centric voice, SMS and data offers. Our new Social Passes allow customers to experience more of our data network, by offering them free social media with the purchase of any data pass.

‘In 2015, we are focusing on using this expanded footprint to provide an improved customer experience, offering reliable access to world-class products and services for all people from the Highlands to the New Guinea Islands and beyond.’

Additionally, we have launched a Pay-TV service, Digicel Play, with an objective to make access to TV more affordable. Digicel Play is not your traditional model, we offer three Free-to-View channels, plus give customers the choice of a daily, weekly, monthly package.

Of course, there is still work to be done but we have a clear focus to drive greater improvements for consumers and businesses in Papua New Guinea.

BAPNG: What are your plans to develop the HD pay TV service, Digicel Play?

MMcC: We launched Digicel Play last November in Port Moresby and we’ve extended that service from Moresby to Lae, Hagen, Buka and into Kokopo. This is an area we’ll continue to expand and invest in this year.

We are producing quite a lot of local content, in terms of health, education and current affairs.

‘… we are actively perusing options for off island cable and are in the middle of finalising plans for Digicel to build its own sub-sea cable from Port Moresby which will allow high speed connectivity to Australia and potentially New Zealand and the US.’

PNG loves sport, so it’s certainly the most watched genre but there’s also a significant appetite for current affairs and local news. So, this year we’re going to expand our offering in line with local interests.

BAPNG: Are you going to develop your own infrastructure, including offshore cable, or will you rely on plans by PNG DataCo to build international cable links and in-country infrastructure?

MMcC: Digicel is both an investor and a partner with public and private sector organisations in infrastructure and technology development projects in the region.

We understand that availability of off-shore cable is a key requirement to help drive economic growth in PNG thus this is a focus area for our business.

In line with this, we are actively perusing options for off island cable and are in the middle of finalising plans for Digicel to build its own sub-sea cable from Port Moresby which will allow high speed connectivity to Australia and potentially New Zealand and the US.

‘The consumers’ appetite for data just continues to grow and grow as we continue to provide premium content services.’

In addition, we’re are also utilising new technologies such as O3B satellite technology domestically, which allows regional or rural SME’s and consumers to access our broadband service at a far more affordable rate.

BAPNG: What will Digicel PNG look like in 5 years?

MMcC: I think what you find is that we’ll mirror what is happening across the world, where data connectivity and content is becoming more and more important.

You’ll see all the services (data, TV, PNG Loop) converging and there’ll be significant investment into fibre, both on-island and off-island.

The consumers’ appetite for data just continues to grow and grow as we continue to provide premium content services. We will therefore work to ensure we have the network on-island and off-island to deliver an improved customer experience and access to data technologies in line with our consumer’s appetite.

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Travel times to medical centres in remote parts of Papua New Guinea have been cut from three weeks to as little as three hours as a result of health initiatives introduced by Digicel’s PNG Foundation. Business Advantage PNG spoke to Foundation CEO Beatrice Mahuru to find out how this has been achieved.

Digicel PNG Foundation CEO Beatrice Mahuru with Aiopi. Credit: Digicel PNG Foundation.

Despite nine out of 10 people living outside urban areas in PNG, aid money still provides the backbone of funding to improve the rural health system, which has been in decline since the 1980s.

In 2013, it was estimated that 40 per cent of rural health facilities have closed or are not fully functioning.

This situation has led a number of corporate organisations operating in PNG to develop health initiatives themselves, often through collaboration with not-for-profit organisations.

Since 2008 the Digicel PNG Foundation has grown to include 21 mobile health clinics, two rural health aid posts and three women’s resources centres. This is in addition to the Foundation’s presence in the education sector, where it has funded 194 primary school classrooms and 234 elementary school classrooms.

A Digicel PNG Foundation mobile health clinic reaches another community. Credit: Digicel PNG Foundation.

The Foundation has now invested K42.5 million into communities across all 22 provinces, directly affecting over 350,000 people.

Beatrice Mahuru, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel PNG Foundation, explained to Business Advantage PNG that the Foundation planned to continue the funding of community health projects with the aim of supporting these communities as they become more self-reliant in the future.

‘No two communities are the same, so we are constantly adapting, with a considered approach, respectful of working in the different cultural contexts which are often deeply rooted in tradition,’ Mahuru said.

‘A lot of Papua New Guineans we visit used to walk for three days to a health centre. A lot of health centres have also been shut down in these remote communities.

‘Now what used to be a three-day walk to a health centre has become closer to a three-hour drive.’

PNG LNG guidance

Mahuru said that Digicel PNG Foundation had adopted elements that form part of the community health programs implemented by ExxonMobil during the development of its PNG LNG project.

ExxonMobil introduced its Community Health Impact Management Program through partnerships with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), Population Services International (PSI) and various contractor firms.

With support from ExxonMobil, PNGIMR’s Health Demographic Surveillance System (iHDSS) has expanded to monitor the impact of the PNG LNG project on the health of communities in Project areas.

A lot of Papua New Guineans we visit used to walk for three days to a health centre. Now what used to be a three-day walk to a health centre has become closer to a three-hour drive.

Meanwhile, the PSI-implemented Enhanced Community Health Project, which operates in key locations including the project’s transport and logistics route, involves community education, awareness and training to address health and wellness initiatives.

Overcoming challenges

Officers prepare to leave following a community visit. Credit: Digicel PNG Foundation.

Mobilisation, Mahuru added, remains a significant challenge to Digicel PNG Foundation, and other organisations, and though basic services are desperately needed in rural remote communities, it is cost prohibitive.

‘Mobilisation into these remote areas remains our biggest cost area,’ Mahuru explained. ‘Air travel is very expensive and there is only one road that connects the spine of the country.’

For Digicel PNG Foundation this challenge reinforces the need to secure partnerships with other organisations operating in PNG, according to Mahuru.

‘At the crux of our work is the partnerships that we have fostered from collaboration to coordination,’ Mahuru said.

‘A partnership opportunity we would love to find is with a freight company that can help take us into these remote areas. That hasn’t happened yet but we will continue to work in that direction.’

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New and emerging technologies have the potential to radically transform business operations, driving e-commerce, cloud computing and efficiencies in supply chains and manufacturing. Business Advantage PNG asks some technology experts how some of these technologies are and will be deployed in Papua New Guinea.

E-commerce, mobile technologies, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IOT) are increasingly topics not just for first world economies but for developing economies such as Papua New Guinea.

‘Not only are these technologies disrupting (or radically changing) the traditional way of doing business, they are putting pressure on the traditional role of a Chief Information Officer,’ Robert Hillard, Deloitte’s Australia Consulting Managing Partner, tells Business Advantage PNG.

Deloitte’s Robert Hillard

‘CIOs need to harness emerging disruptive technologies for the business while balancing future needs with today’s operational realities,’ he says.

And that will have an impact on the IT worker of the future.

‘To tackle these challenges, companies will likely need to cultivate a new species of worker, with habits, incentives, and skills that are inherently different from those in play today,’ says Hillard.

E-commerce and mobile retailing

In Papua New Guinea, mobile phone usage stands at around 50% market penetration, with phone banking proving popular in rural and remote areas, reducing theft and boosting savings levels.

According to IT Security Specialist Robert Blackman, PNG, with its predominantly rural society, will be empowered as greater numbers of businesses and consumers avail themselves of e-commerce and mobile retailing, effectively extending trading hours from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday to genuine 24×7 operations.

IT specialist, Robert Blackman

‘Whether PNG people are in their villages scattered across the country, on buses, at airports or at work, e-commerce and mobile retailing will provide them with easier access to their accounts, to check balances, view recent transactions, pay bills online, receive real-time alerts on any possible fraudulent activities, or if their account is low,’ he notes.

‘E-commerce and mobile retailing will reduce the cost of doing business, the price of goods and services, and reduce the cost and frequency that remote consumers have to travel to commercial areas to effect routine transactions.’

And, while e-commerce and mobile retailing may reduce staff levels in specific companies, overall they will increase employment, as more business ventures become viable and possible.

In a sign of the times, in June 2015, PNG Power announced it would no longer accept cash payments, and would only accept payments by cheque or mobile phone banking.

ICT Entrepreneur, Priscilla Kevin

PNG IT specialist Priscilla Kevin says mobile technology is given ordinary Papua New Guineans ‘the confidence to trade online which previously was known and accessible only by corporate businesses and few academic institutions and those with connectivity’.

But bmobile-Vodafone’s Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Ramamurthy, warns lower internet costs and faster data speeds are critical to the development of e-commerce.

‘Every country that has embraced the “digital age” has built fibreoptic infrastructure and allowed competition to flourish at the retail level,’ he says.

While a modest National Transmission Network is currently under construction in PNG, Ramamurthy feels there is a long way to go for PNG to be fully e-commerce-ready.

‘The cost of internet access and communications between major cities needs to be reduced by a factor of 10 from current levels to have a significant impact on society in PNG,’ he says.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing—storing, managing, and processing data on remote servers via the internet—will radically transform the PNG business landscape, predicts Blackman, as more business operations gravitate to using and storing their data, and using services, ‘in the cloud’.

IBM predicts by 2016, there will be one trillion cloud-ready devices connected to the internet. Work patterns and habits are changing, with more of us out of the office, working from home and checking emails and accessing data and services remotely. If you’re using a service like Google Docs, you’re already cloud computing.

‘Cloud computing will provide better security for PNG business from hackers and malware,’ Blackman told Business Advantage PNG.

The Internet of Things. Credit: Forbes

‘Data centre facilities in PNG are generally not up to international standards but cloud computing will eliminate the need to have world-class data centre facilities in PNG.’

Cloud computing will also reduce PNG’s need for expatriate workers, he predicts.

Internet of Things

While we’re currently preoccupied with connecting our phones and computers to the internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to way in which the internet is used to connect any kind of object—a piece of machinery, a sensor like a thermostat or a video camera, for instance.

‘The number of connected intelligent devices will continue to grow exponentially, giving ’smart things’ the ability to sense, interpret, communicate and negotiate, and effectively have a digital ‘voice’,’ says Steve Prentice, vice-president of the US consumer research company, Gartner.

‘It is not outside the realms of possibilities in PNG for our fridge to inform us (based on location services) that we are near a supermarket offering specials on items we need to replenish at home,’ says Ramamurthy.

‘This requires a combination of a ‘smart fridge’, a smartphone and location services which are all available today.’

The Internet of Things is already with us, with many international companies which have a presence in PNG already using the internet to manage their assets.

bmobile’s Sundar Ramamurthy

GE, for instance, uses the internet to monitor and manage the industrial equipment it sells throughout its supply chain and even after a sale is made. The Internet of Things will lead to a world where almost anything, not just people, can be potentially connected to the internet, ushering in the age of the Industrial Internet.

‘Anything that can be measured, connected, controlled or instrumented in any form will be,’ predicted Benedict Evans, Partner at venture capital firm Andreesson Horowitz, at a conference last year.

With PNG’s economy becoming increasingly internationalised, the challenge for PNG-based businesses will be to have a plan to leverage these new technologies in pursuit of greater profits and productivity.

How businesses operating in PNG can benefit from emerging technology will be the theme of a keynote address by Peter Williams of Deloitte’s Centre for the Edge at the 2015 Papua New Guinea Advantage Investment Summit in Brisbane on 27 & 28 August.

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The CEO of Telikom PNG predicts all Papua New Guinea will be able to connect to the Internet within two years. In a wide-ranging review of PNG’s telecommunications industry, Michael Donnelly canvasses lower prices, new investment, takeovers and the impact of competition policy.

Telikom’s Michael Donnelly

Within two years, 100 per cent of Papua New Guineans will have access to modern communications technologies, including the Internet, as a result of a concerted effort to ensure everyone has access to stable, reliable, effective telecommunications, says Telikom PNG’s CEO, Michael Donnelly.

Today, he said, about 85 to 90 per cent of the geography of the country is covered or has the capacity to connect to the Internet either by a mobile or fixed line network or some sort of wireless solution.

But that is increasing, he said, pointing out the World Bank has let a tender for blackspots in those areas where there is no coverage and also to enable the upgraded ‘from 2G to 3G to 4G’ in some of those areas as well.

Competition policy

In conversation with Business Advantage International’s Publishing Director Andrew Wilkins, Donnelly told the 2015 PNG Advantage Investment Summit in Brisbane that competition policy is largely behind the move to connecting Papua New Guineans ‘to the modern world economy and the modern world of communications’.

‘In the last 18 months, we’ve reduced the wholesale price for data by about 60 per cent and the plan is to continue to drop that over the coming two to three years to get it to a point where we’re achieving international benchmarks.’

He acknowledged the entrance of competitor Digicel into the PNG market ‘has achieved enormous things’.

‘But it has also thrown the challenge to Telikom to re-look at its business, re-look at the agility of its business and the ability to respond to customer demands in terms of service levels, coverage levels and things like that.

‘I think the real innovation in competition policy is that the customer becomes the focus of your products and services as opposed to something else.’

He said convergent technology has seen customers asking for things ‘that are arriving on the shores of PNG not too far behind anywhere else in the world.’

Investments

Donnelly said that with ‘a very strong balance sheet’ and with the support of the Independent Public Business Corporation [the government entity which oversees PNG’s state-owned enterprises], Telikom had made some significant investments in the last 12-to-18 months.

‘We’ve acquired Datec, one of the country’s largest ICT providers and we also acquired EMTV*. Because what our customers, our corporate and retail customers are looking for is convergence.

‘With the large capital investments we’re making over the next 12–to-18 months, we’re going to be able to provide real competition and demand.’

‘Data and data storage is one of the big issues for small and medium sized enterprises because they can’t make those investments themselves hence out investment in a data centre,’ he said.

Telikom has signed an agreement with Australian Data Centres, a large provider of high-end data centres to the Australian government, which will build a new data centre in Port Moresby.

‘It’s a large investment and it is an example of how a state-owned enterprise can build an infrastructure, using best practice from overseas to the banking, mining or private sector to onshore its data.’

Lower prices

Lowering the cost of telecommuncations is related to coverage, said Donnelly.

‘As more and more users jump onto the infrastructure and more and more products and services make themselves available, whether it’s an e-commerce or an e-health or some other content, clearly prices will fall.

‘But, in the last 18 months, we’ve reduced the wholesale price for data by about 60 per cent and the plan is to continue to drop that over the coming two to three years to get it to a point where we’re achieving international benchmarks.

‘Our projections are that before 2018 the country will need and will have a new international submarine cable.’

Donnelly said recent talks with Digicel will see a new agreement covering interconnection and termination fees, which apply when a Telikom customer calls a Digicel mobile, and vice versa.

‘Those interconnection and termination are coming down and the benefit of that of course is that the real cost of telecoms is and will continue to fall.

‘But ultimately what’s going to drive the price down is connecting consumers, businesses and organisations to that network and then allowing more entrants to enter the market to really drive the prices down.

More operators

‘Personally I’m not afraid of competition.

‘I actually think there’s more room for operators,’ he said. ‘Probably not a lot of room for a third or fourth infrastructure build because the cost-benefit analysis is not there, but the infrastructure that we are building is open to other operators entering the market and bringing their unique services, whether it’s Netflix or another mobile operator.’

Connectivity

Telikom is not only building the National Broadband Network, but, working with PNG DataCo, it is looking at international connectivity.

Currently, two submarine cables come into the country; one is via Guam, the other via Sydney.

‘As we see the data increase and the usage increase every day for all sorts of purposes, so our projections are that before 2018 the country will need and will have a new international submarine cable,’ said Donnelly.

Priorities

While many in PNG complain about low connection speeds, Donnelly points out that operators have to concentrate initially on stability and connectivity because PNG has a challenging topology–high mountains, and a lot of land movement.

‘So, the focus initially for Telikom has been stability, reliability, robustness, and capacity. And then comes speed,’ he says.

‘By the time we complete the NBN with all the smarts we’re building into the network, he said, the speeds will be commensurate with other similar countries, ‘maybe not South Korea or Singapore. But if you want me to give you a number, I just won’t do that.’

Telikom will also spend about K26 million in 2016 in wi-fi and fibreoptics, laying additional fibre around the country.

‘We’ve got loops in most of the main commercial centres and what we’re doing now is connecting businesses to those fibreoptic loops, which connect to this new transmission network that we’re building across the country.’

Knowledge

In the last two years, Telikom has focussed on ‘knowledge management’.

Graduates are seconded to other telcos, such as Australia’s Telstra or Optus.

‘We’re probably the largest engineering business in PNG and through that we are doing research and development in terms of new products and services.

‘We have a lot of good technology partners, whether it’s Cisco or Siemens, GE, Huawei, where a part of those contracts is knowledge transfer.

‘So if you want to work with Telikom, you’ve also got to transfer knowledge.

‘We are very much focussed on building the intellectual capability of the company and then using that intellectual capability to partner with global providers to ensure we stay ahead of the curve.’

2018

‘Where we want to be in three year’s time is to be a key economic enabler in the country—whether it’s a small private user or a large user, they can use the infrastructure that we’re putting in place to develop their business.’

* While a deal to acquire EMTV was signed in February 2015, ‘intense negotiations’ were still ongoing between the parties at the end of August 2015, according to EMTV’s owner, Fiji TV.

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Satellite-enabled phone and data services have often been considered a technology of last resort, due to relatively high costs and quality constraints. However, Dutch company O3b is pioneering the next generation of cheaper, more reliable satellite communications in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific—good news for a region where getting connected can be a major challenge.

The O3b Pacific network

Its title is straight out of a Star Wars movie–O3b—and it refers to ‘the other three billion people on the planet who aren’t connected to the Internet or who have to walk to connect’, according to John Turnbull, O3b’s Sales Director, Pacific.

The founder of O3b, Greg Wyler, came up with idea in the jungles of Rwanda in 2005, when Rwanda had issues with its domestic infrastructure and getting connectivity to the rest of the world.

‘O3b satellites are 8,000kms away from earth; the traditionally geostationary satellites are 36,000kms away from earth. Signals travel a much shorter distance, there is less delay (or latency) on the line, it’s faster, cheaper and provides broadband speeds.’

In 2007, he and a small group of investors, including Google and Liberty Global, designed a new range of satellites which would orbit much closer to the earth than legacy geosynchronous (GEO) satellites and use a different frequency to provide much more traffic at a lower cost.

Lower orbit the key

‘Our satellites are in the medium earth orbit as opposed to the GEO orbit. The difference is this: O3b satellites are 8,000kms away from earth; the traditional geostationary satellites are 36,000kms away from earth,’ Turnbull told the 2015 PNG Advantage Investment Summit in Brisbane last month.

Signals travel a much shorter distance, so data reaches the user in one quarter the time: it’s faster, more affordable and provides greater broadband speeds, according to Turnbull.

O3b also launches multiple satellites on one launch, reducing its operating costs.

03b’s John Turnbull

Turnbull says O3b has launched 12 satellites at a cost of about A$1.5 billion (K3 billion). As a comparison, Australia’s NBN Company contracted Space Systems/Loral to build and launch two satellites at a total cost of A$2 billion (K4 billion).

Asia-Pacific focus

Rather than a replacement for existing fixed line and transmission services, O3b’s service can be seen as complementary, providing connectivity to communities and businesses in remote areas which currently have no other way of connecting to the internet, and also providing redundancy for those using other methods of communcation.

O3b satellites operate within 45 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator, making the Asia-Pacific region its primary market.

‘We have 27 countries connected to O3b.

‘Twelve countries are now connected in the Pacific and leading the way is PNG. We have five beams concentrated over Port Moresby , Mt Hagen and Lae and we are looking to extend that to the outer island groups,’ says Turnbull.

In PNG, O3b’s service is delivered through Digicel PNG, which launched its O3b services in July 2014. Since then, it has increased the capacity by nearly 150 per cent.

‘Part of their drive was to roll out 3G and 4G services, not just to the main cities but to the outer regions and also to deploy ICT and enterprise services for the businesses in these areas,’ says Turnbull.

Unitech PNG was the first university that O3b has connected globally for the delivery of lectures, conferencing, video meetings and job interviews. After six weeks, Vice-Chancellor Albert Schram reported he had ‘already saved K150,000 in operating costs’ on an initial investment of K1.2 million.

Other 03b users in the Pacific include Our Telekom in Solomon Islands, Palau National Communications Corp., the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority and the cruise liner, Royal Caribbean.

Medicine and education

The comparative speed, reliability and low cost of the service is allowing the internet to be used in new ways in the region.

‘No one should doubt the appetite for broadband speed internet in Papua New Guinea,’ says Imran Malik, O3b’s Regional Vice-President.

In neighbouring East Timor, O3b is used for tele-medicine, which it allows medical practitioners to continue providing medical services without the need to go to Dili for training.  It has also meant they can access the International Learning Gateway, a data hub, which provides learning and training materials, which previously couldn’t be downloaded because the internet would time out or the data files were just too large to send.

Unitech PNG was the first university that O3b has connected globally for the delivery of lectures, conferencing, video meetings and job interviews. After six weeks, Vice-Chancellor Albert Schram reported he had ‘already saved K150,000 in operating costs’ on an initial investment of K1.2 million.

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The new Apple News app for iPhone and iPad users is more than just another app – it’s the latest salvo in the global battle between tech companies for your eyeballs. It’s also an exciting opportunity for producers of quality news content.

If you have an iPad or iPhone, you may have noticed that Apple has recently released a new operating system for your device (iOS 9.1). If you’ve run the update—as most Apple users habitually do—you may have noticed a new red icon appear on your screen. It’s for the new Apple News app.

No, Apple hasn’t become a news organisation, but this new app does something helpful for those of us who like to keep up with plenty of different news sources. It brings them all together in one place.

That’s hardly revolutionary idea—apps like Flipboard have been aggregating news for years—but it’s an impressive attempt.

How to get the Apple news app on your iPhone or iPad

• Make sure the software on your device is up-to-date by going to Settings > General > Software Update and update if necessary to iOS 9.1
• Once you’re running the latest software, look for the red “News” icon on your device’s screen (see above)
• Launch the app by pressing on it, then follow the prompts
• Add the Business Advantage PNG news feed to your Favourites in the app by clicking on the following link on your iPhone or iPad: https://apple.news/TyWwdBzypT6CIGy1CRPOGIA, or by searching for ‘Business Advantage PNG‘

On launch, Apple News features news from a large number of the world’s top news organisations, from CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian, Australia’s Fairfax Group, the BBC and many others—including Business Advantage PNG, the only Papua New Guinea-focused news service currently on the app.

Users can select from a wide range of global news sources, follow specific topics, and save specific stories to read later or share with colleagues or friends.

On first use, it’s a pretty handy and easy-to-use service, but why is Apple launching it now?

The world’s largest tech companies—such as Apple, Google and Facebook—are all engaged in a battle for your attention so they can sell you their products and services. Most of these companies have been using the content provided by news organisations to help them secure that attention.

In turn, news publishers get a chance to present their content to vast online audiences (although none of them has quite worked out how to make substantial revenue out of it yet!).

At the moment, the Apple News app is available in the United States, the UK and Australia, with a wider rollout planned.

The post Apple launches News app – and we’re on it appeared first on Business Advantage PNG.

From self-service to bringing buyers and sellers together, software developer Shadrach Jaungere’s smartphone apps are making it easier for Papua New Guineans to do business. And there are more to come, reports Kevin McQuillan.

Telikom PNG’s Shadrach Jaungere

Shadrach Jaungere is on a roll.

Despite a long and abiding interest in computer programming, he struggled through his university work and it wasn’t until he created his first smartphone app two years ago that he got the bug. The Android mobile phone app bug that is. And now he’s working on his thirty-fifth.

‘It’s amazing that when I was learning coding at university, I didn’t do so well,’ Jaungere tells Business Advantage PNG.

‘Twice I failed my programming units, even though I always had an interest in programming. I found it fascinating.

‘The potential of mobile phones and social media is huge. The smartphone user rate is going up all the time in PNG.’

‘And I’ve always had a curiosity about mechanical things.

“When I was young, I used to love visiting dump sites to collect old discarded electronic appliances. I used to remove their electrical parts and then re-assemble them to create new electronic devices,’ he says.

Schooling

Born in 1984 in Morobe Province, Jaungere went to school in Lae, finishing his high school years at Bumayong Lutheran Secondary School.

He enrolled at the University of PNG in 2004, where a lack of motivation meant he had to repeat his third year of a Bachelor of Science degree.

‘I finally completed fourth year and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 2010.

‘What was unique about this app was that it was designed to accommodate Tok Pisin users. So customers could choose to run the app in either Tok Pisin or English. It was very successful.’

He joined state-owned telco Telikom PNG in 2013, after teaching computer programming as a part-time support tutor.

First app

And that’s when his abilities came to the fore. He was given the job to develop a new Android phone app for Telikom customers which would allow users to log in and check their account, top up credit, and purchase service bundles, giving them more control over their account.

RaitApp SelfCare was the first-ever Android app created by Telikom PNG’s ICT division and is available on the Google Play platform.

‘One problem we are trying to solve is to quickly notify people whenever there is a disaster pending.’

‘What was unique about this app was that it was designed to accommodate Tok Pisin users. So customers could choose to run the app in either Tok Pisin or English. It was very successful.’

That was 2013. Since then he has created 35 Android apps. Twenty have been for completed fully, ten are in research and development, while another five are unpublished. Ten of the apps are used by Telikom staff in-house.

Game changer

The highly-rated app developed by Shadrach Jaungere for the 2015 Pacific Games.

Jaungere’s work on developing a mobile phone-based business directory app, and related apps that support ecommerce and business-to-business trade, saw him make the finals of the prestigious UNDP-led Kumul Gamechangers Competition last year.

‘It’s called LookMeUp, which will allow visitors and locals to contact businesses, service providers and suppliers directly. And it will have a social media interface so people can chat and share information as well.

Another app—again still in the developmental phase—will have a huge impact for people living in remote areas of PNG in particular.

‘It’s a chat platform and will be a real competitor to WhatsApp, but it will have a specific usage in PNG: disaster control and information.

‘One problem we are trying to solve is to quickly notify people whenever there is a disaster pending.

‘We cannot do that with any existing platform because of the costs involved. It will be free, because we are using the Internet as the way to transmit the alerts.

He is also developing three ‘anti-corruption’ apps for Transparency International.

‘There will actually be three apps for use in schools, and they’ll teach people about PNG, ethics and corruption.

Huge potential

What motivates Shadrach is a desire to give something back.

‘Professionally, I am motivated by the possibilities that smartphones have for people. Smartphones have greatly empowered people.The potential of mobile phones and social media is huge. The smartphone user rate is going up all the time in PNG.

‘Rates of communication and getting information across to the masses is faster and that’s where the opportunities lie: phone banking, farmers getting updates on market prices, weather and so on,’ he says.

The post Entrepreneurs: Local developer’s mobile apps making it easier to do business in Papua New Guinea appeared first on Business Advantage PNG.

With Papua New Guinea’s soon-to-be-completed National Transmission Network likely to bring improved internet speeds and reliability by the end of the year, more PNG companies are expected to explore the possibility of selling goods and services online. Andrew Wilkins looks at the potential for ecommerce in PNG.

PNG’s growing internet usage. Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Until recently, PNG’s slow bandwidth and high internet costs have acted as a barrier to entry for many companies looking to conduct ecommerce. But that situation is changing, as internet prices come down and bandwidth increases.

According to International Telecommunications Union estimates, less than 10 per cent of Papua New Guineans had access to the internet in 2014. While this sounds like a small figure, it represents a trebling of access over the previous three years.

‘It is no surprise that PNG’s financial institutions, hotels and airlines have led the way in ecommerce.’

Participation can be expected to grow quickly in coming years, with the expected completion of PNG’s National Transmission Network at the end of this year and the expansion of data-enabled mobile phone networks to cover almost all of the population. There has already been increased competition among internet providers on price.

Digital products

Goods and services that can be delivered digitally with a simple electronic payment—think tickets, vouchers, reservations and money transfers—are the obvious place to look first for ecommerce opportunities. It is thus no surprise that PNG’s financial institutions, hotels and airlines have led the way in e-commerce. Many already have mature offerings.

‘No need to visit a sales office, no need to stand in line. Clearly, there are benefits for both customer and vendor.’

Booking a hotel room online in PNG is now common—and a website like villagehuts.com has shown that ecommerce isn’t just for the big guys. It has been possible to book tickets with Air Niugini for some years with a credit card. Recently, the airline partnered with Bank South Pacific to integrate its online booking system with BSP’s mobile banking platform.

This innovation means customers can book a ticket online without a credit card, paying for it with money in their BSP bank account. For a country where credit cards are not common, this is a significant development.

Customer benefits

BSP’s Paul Thornton. Source: BSP

Commenting on the new solution, BSP’s General Manager Retail Banking, Paul Thornton, outlines the customer benefits that ecommerce can deliver:

‘The fact that our customers will now be able to purchase their tickets through BSP Mobile Banking … underscores our commitment to ensuring convenient and cheap solutions that save time, effort and money.’

Meanwhile, Moni Plus provides online money transfer services on its website, ’24 hours a days, five days a week’. No need to visit a sales office, no need to stand in line. Clearly, there are benefits for both customer and vendor.

Selling physical goods

Some enterprising retailers are already offering the opportunity to purchase goods online, despite the fact that transporting goods around PNG presents a logistical challenge.

Fortuna Online is an online supermarket owned by Vitis Industries. It offers food, beverages, home appliances, clothing, hardware, pharmaceuticals and even vehicles for sale online (a DFAC truck for K155,000, anyone?). It offers free delivery to select locations in Port Moresby and Lae, with pickup centres servicing other areas.

‘The main idea is to reach our customers directly without middlemen like distributors, supermarkets, shops etc,’ Vitis Industries’ General Manager Sergey Mosin explains to Business Advantage PNG.

‘Online stores can be used to export. This is especially suitable for goods that are peculiar to the country, such as PNG coffee and traditional handicrafts.’

‘We also try to follow the modern trends in new communication technology. Right now, the internet in PNG is still slow and expensive, but we are looking at three-to-five years in the future, when the internet will be fast and cheap and millions will be connected—we want to be first in the new PNG cyberspace.’

Able Home & Office sells office equipment across PNG, but charges for delivery, partly by passing on postage or courier costs to the customer, and partly by pricing products differently depending on what region of PNG the customer is ordering from.

Export opportunities

While Fortuna and Able are focused on servicing the market within PNG, online stores can be used to export. This is especially suitable for goods that are uniquely Papua New Guinean, such as PNG coffee and traditional handicrafts.

PNG Coffee has been selling its Blue Mountain Gold coffee online since 1996 and recently launched a second site to sell its coffee in Nespresso-style capsules.

Perhaps the biggest driver of ecommerce—after increased bandwidth and lower internet costs— is the availability of the necessary technology and the cost of creating web sites.

Selling online also enables businesses in the more remote parts of PNG to overcome the tyranny of distance—the internet allows Banz Kofi to reach worldwide markets from its Mt Hagen roasting facilities.

Cost of entry drops

Perhaps the biggest driver of ecommerce—after increased bandwidth and lower internet costs— is the availability of the necessary technology and the lowering cost of creating web sites.

As delegates to the APEC Business Advisory Council’s SME Summit in Port Moresby learned last month, low-cost website building platforms (such as WordPress, Squarespace and Adobe’s recently-launched Portfolio) mean any small business in PNG can put up a basic ecommerce-enabled website in hours or days, rather than weeks or months.

To this extent, the internet offers a level playing field for any PNG entrepreneur with a good idea and a sound business plan.

Andrew Wilkins is Publishing Director at Business Advantage International, which provides online and digital marketing solutions to a number of leading PNG companies.

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Roberta Morlin is developing an app that will be able to provide direct medical consultation for women in remote PNG. She explains to Business Advantage PNG how it would work and the challenges of being a young entrepreneur in PNG.

App developer Roberta Morlin

Roberta says she decided to help improve the health of Papua New Guinea’s female population using digital technology.

‘As we know, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and it mainly affects women in third world or low income countries.’

She says contributing factors in PNG include: cultural barriers or taboos, sensitivity issues—wherein women are embarrassed to provide accurate information to nurses or doctors—and, especially, a lack of awareness.

Fe’mahealth

‘So my concept is an app, called Fe’mahealth [pronounced Fee-mah-health], which will allow women to openly discuss or consult a doctor for medical advice online, instantly, about their wellbeing.

‘It’s a virtual online medical consultation, connecting doctors and patients. Although there are challenges ahead with this, it is beautiful to see how I can tweak this product to provide support for potential users—women.

‘It is scaleable. It would certainly target women in other Pacific countries like Fiji.’

‘It is better to ask a doctor instantly, rather than ignore possible symptoms that lead to cervical, breast or ovarian cancer. At present, we are also looking at ways to reach out to women in rural areas who do not have smartphones.’

Morlin also sees Fe’mahealth being used across the region.

‘I think it could easily be used throughout the Pacific. It is scaleable. It would certainly target women in other Pacific countries like Fiji.’

Entrepreneurialism

Morlin is currently in the second phase of development of her app. She has received assistance from the Kumul Gamechangers initiative, launched by United Nations Development Program (see box below), and was a finalist in the program last year.

She says the competition gave her a ‘great platform to network and build relationships.’ The main challenge, she says, has been to change her mindset.

Cancer treatment is often too late in remote areas of PNG. Credit: ABC

‘Entrepreneurship is a journey and along the way you have to learn. What you initially thought might work and the reality might turn out different. You have to be able to change your thinking and keep pushing.

‘Not every door will be opened for you, but you have to have your values and the ability to withstand difficulties,’ she says.

Born in Port Moresby, Morlin graduated from Divine Word University in 2012 with a Bachelor in Arts, majoring in International Relations. She earned an Academic Excellence in Research award.

‘I am ambitious and I work hard to ensure there is a certain level of success I achieve. I embrace my failures and learn from them,’ she says.

New perspective

The next step for Morlin is to find a funding source in order to establish the business. She may get further assistance from the Kumul Gamechangers program, which is investigating the possibility of creating a facility for seed capital to incubate start-ups.

‘I have certainly learned that working on a social enterprise concept takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice and commitment. I also have learned to see bigger problems as opportunities.’

Fe’mahealth is one of two apps Morlin is developing.

The other is ‘Gypsyforce’, a tool for students, undergraduates and graduates to secure a casual or permanent job.

About Kumul GameChangers

The Kumul GameChangers initiative, launched by UNDP with the support from Australian Government in 2014, is aligned to the National Government’s SME Policy.

The second phase of the program is designed to mobilise and amplify the PNG entrepreneurial spirit.

‘The project—the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea—received more than 680 ideas, of which the 42 best ideas were shortlisted,’ UNDP spokesman, Assel Tleof, tells Business Advantage PNG. Twelve made it to the finals.

‘Selected entrepreneurs underwent training with Silicon Valley experts and attended a bootcamp on how to build a start-up. This helped them to learn the basics of start-up, the build and prototype of their ideas. They also had to try pitching and fundraising approaches.’

The post Entrepreneur: Roberta Morlin, women’s health app developer appeared first on Business Advantage PNG.

Two years ago, Port Moresby-based technology company, Kumulsoft, branched out into writing tailored software products for local companies and government departments. Now they have six major clients on the books, as well as a number of law firms. Partner Marsh Narewec explains their success to Business Advantage PNG.

Kumulsoft’s Marsh Narewec

‘Our original plan, which began in 2007, was to develop a fixed assets [computer] program—which allows companies and government departments, institutions and agencies to keep track of their fixed assets,’ says Marsh Narewec.

Narewec was a programmer with Bank South Pacific at the time. His close family friend, Paul Muingnepe, was a Fixed Assets Officer with the University of PNG.  The initial plan was to exploit an unserviced niche in the market.

Monitoring assets

Muingnepe saw the need for a database system that would assist him to perform his role effectively at UPNG to prevent fraud, abuse and misuse of fixed assets that were being purchased using government funds.

He got Narewec interested and Narewec started developing the software.

They formed their own company in 2009, quit their jobs and began Kumulsoft in 2010.

‘We started by renting an office space at Five Mile in Port Moresby,’ says Narewec.

‘Then we moved to the Steamships compound in Hohola, and this is where we operate now.’

Unfortunately, the partners were not able to secure enough clients to continue the development of the fixed assets management software at the time.

‘We tried a bank for help but we were not able to convince them, so we got stuck into doing other software development projects and providing other IT services,’ says Narewec.

New direction

They began offering email and website hosting services as well as customised software and databases to their clients, which include PNG Power Limited and Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Ltd in Honiara.

‘We also want to produce a simple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for local SMEs that would assist them to run their business effectively and make it easy for them to fulfil their statutory obligations’

Then, in 2014, after attending an Australian Business Volunteers program, the pair realised that living project-to-project was getting them nowhere. So they revived the fixed assets management systems concept and began developing a legal practice billing system called Success.

‘Our fixed asset management system is currently being used by PNG Customs, the University of Goroka, the East New Britain Provincial Administration and Western Highlands Health Authority,’ says Narewec.

‘Our legal practice billing system is currently being used by seven law firms, including Twivey Lawyers, Bradshaw Lawyers, and Greg Manda Lawyers.’

The company has a staff of five concentrating on providing IT services. Kumulsoft outsources some of its coding project work to freelancers in PNG and overseas.

Future plans

‘I would not say that we are successful—yet—but we have managed to survive in the business against all odds, for almost six years now,’ notes Narewec.

‘One of our aims over the next three years is to sign up the provincial governments, state institutions, district development authorities, national departments and agencies to use our fixed assets management system.

Kumulsoft’s Paul Muingnepe.

‘We believe this software will help them take control of their recurrent asset expenditure and manage their physical assets in the full asset management life cycle—from acquisition, to allocation and disposal—in an effective, transparent and accountable manner.

‘We also want to produce a simple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for local SMEs that would assist them to run their business effectively and make it easy for them to fulfil their statutory obligations with the Internal Revenue Commission. This will include modules such as payroll and accounting.’

The power of data

Narewec says nearly all SMEs and government departments in PNG know that database systems can be used to effectively manage their information. It can lead to vastly improved decision-making processes.

‘Some local SMEs are not using very vital modern day internet-based business solutions like email, websites and accounting software, because of the cost of the internet.’

The biggest challenge for these SMEs and departments, he says, is to actually get to use their database systems and see results in the management of their organisations.

Here, training is important. Having local, in-country support for their system is also paramount, he says.

IT for business

Narewec praises PNG’s corporate sector and some government departments for embracing ICT effectively. He singles out the PNG Investment Promotion Authority as a good example of an organisation using IT to help businesses start up in PNG.

One drawback for local SMEs, however, is the cost of the internet, he says (PNG tops the list of Pacific countries in internet costs).

‘Some local SMEs are not using very vital modern day internet-based business solutions like email, websites and accounting software, because of the cost of the internet.’

The post Meet Kumulsoft, Papua New Guinea’s home grown software developer appeared first on Business Advantage PNG.

The rollout of PNG’s National Transmission Network is on track for completion later this year. It will transform the nation’s digital highway, but that does not mean there will not be challenges, telecommunications analyst Henry Lancaster tells Business Advantage PNG.

The creation of Papua New Guinea’s K685 million (US$313 million) National Transmission Network (NTN) aims to provide fast and reliable broadband to the country’s major population centres by connecting them to the international gateway in Madang on PNG’s northern coast.

This gateway connects the country to the worldwide web via the PPC-1 undersea cable, which passes through the Bismarck Sea.

The NTN is being built using ExxonMobil’s data link between the Southern Highlands and its PNG LNG plant northeast of Port Moresby, with an added connection to Port Moresby. An additional link will connect Yonki, outside Lae, to Mt Hagen and Mendi in the Southern Highlands, thereby completing the circle.

Network

A network of microwave transmitters will extend the reach of the NTN to smaller centres such as Vanimo, Wewak and the New Guinea Islands. Ultimately, there are plans to roll out more fibre optic cable to Daru in Western Province, Alotau in Milne Bay and across the Bismarck Sea to Rabaul (East New Britain).

BuddeComm’s Henry Lancaster

‘The project has been kept to schedule,’ Sydney-based analyst Henry Lancaster of Paul Budde Communications tells Business Advantage PNG.

‘Those involved, such as Huawei, have considerable experience in this type of undertaking.

PNG’s internet usage between 2011 and 2014 more than tripled.

‘Because of the unique terrain, though, there has had to be additional work, including the provision of satellite connectivity. However, the government-owned satellite is not expected to be launched until 2018’.

New opportunities

The completion of the NTN will undoubtedly act as the catalyst for internet usage in PNG.

There have already been signs in recent years of a sharp increase. According to a report by Deloitte, internet usage between 2011 and 2014 more than tripled from less than 3 per 100 people to almost 10 per 100 people. That usage level is set to rise further with the establishment of the NTN.

PNG’s internet usage. Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Price of the internet will be an issue, however. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) internet take-up grows most rapidly when the retail price falls below 5 per cent of average weekly income.

‘Low disposable income already serves as a break to internet adoption, with the cost of services as the principal inhibitor,’ says Lancaster.

‘Internet access is still extremely expensive in PNG, and far beyond the means of most of the population, even though since 2015 Telikom Wholesale has reduced its prices.’

e-commerce

Business participation has a large potential upside, given that it is coming from a low base.

Copper for the last mile is still dominant in urban and semi-urban areas, while rural areas are being furnished with satellite connectivity.

In prospect is a significant change in e-commerce practices. Lancaster says the main e-commerce channels, such as PCs and smartphones, have ‘low adoption rates’ at present.

‘There is not yet the social/business recognition of e-commerce as a normal commercial undertaking,’ he adds.

Mobile coverage

Lancaster says the NTN will provide a boost to mobile coverage and mobile usage.

‘Last month the regulator issued a tender for the provision of additional 3G services across all regions.’

‘In most rural areas, only 2G services are available. Nevertheless, mobile broadband is proving far more successful than fixed-line broadband, having reached an estimated 6 per cent penetration.

‘The number of mobile broadband users is expected to grow as Digicel continues to expand its 3G and 4G networks.

‘In addition, last month the regulator issued a tender for the provision of additional 3G services across all regions, and this should go some way to improving connectivity in rural areas in coming years.’

Copper

Lancaster believes the dynamics of the market mean that copper for the last mile is still dominant in urban and semi-urban areas, while rural areas are being furnished with satellite connectivity.

‘Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) is not considered viable in this market other than in isolated pockets.’

‘The older radio links which serve these communities have their own difficulties, not least of which are the high reparation demands made by the owners of land where the repeater stations are located.

‘This has added a tremendous cost to what was already incurred, due to difficult topography—it is an expensive undertaking.

‘What this all means is that Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) is not considered viable in this market other than in isolated pockets.’

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This month, Papua New Guinea’s Parliament passed the Cybercrime Code Act, which applies to defamation, cybersecurity, spam, hacking, forgery and computer fraud. Zinnia Dawidi, a lawyer specialising in IT & Telecommunications law outlines the implications for businesses and individuals.

ICT lawyer Zinnia Dawidi

The formulation and drafting of Papua New Guinea’s law on Cybercrime was commenced in 2011 as part of a general drive within the Pacific region to reform and develop the region’s ICT laws. The aim was to achieve enhanced uniformity and harmonisation with the global community.

Papua New Guinea is one of the last countries in the region to legislate and is many, many years behind the wider international community.

‘In terms of Cybersecurity … the most important provisions relate to cyber attack … This criminalises attacks on critical infrastructure’

The Cybercrime Code Act 2016 criminalises many activities:

• hacking;
• cyber bullying;
• child online grooming;
• unlawful advertising;
• cyber harassment (which includes, cyber stalking and the use of profanities);
• electronic fraud (covering bank fraud);
• forgery;
• gambling by children;
• identity theft;
• unlawful disclosure (the unlawful publication of private and confidential data and sensitive personal data alike);
• infringement of intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyright, patents and industrial designs;
• the production, possession and publication of child pornography and animal pornography;
• the production and publication of (adult) pornography;
• the design and distribution of illegal devices and many other technical offences.

In terms of Cybersecurity (which over arches Cybercrime), the most important provisions relate to cyber attack (known in some jurisdictions as ‘cyber warfare’). This criminalises attacks on critical infrastructure such as our national power grid, water supply, LNG plant, air services and health systems.

Defamation criminalised

Member countries were left to decide whether or not to criminalise defamation. Under PNG’s existing Defamation Act, the only provisions criminalizing defamatory publications related to members of Parliament.

Every other citizen had to resort to a claim for damages under the civil jurisdiction of the court.

In the interests of justice, and in light of the exorbitant costs one must inevitably incur when bringing a civil claim for defamation, it was decided that the criminal provisions should be made available to everyone—member of parliament and ordinary citizen alike.

‘The legal principles governing defamation are maintained: the defences of truth, fair comment, good faith and public interest benefit are available.’

Defamatory publications are now also criminalised. Previously, one could only be charged criminally for defaming a member of Parliament. Every other citizen had to resort to the civil jurisdiction of the court. This meant that there was no point in taking any action for redress against a penniless person for defaming you.

Under the new Act you will now be able to file a criminal complaint for defamation against a poor person for some redress—and you don’t have to be a member of parliament to do that.

The legal principles governing defamation are maintained. The defences of truth, fair comment, good faith and public interest benefit are available to anyone who finds himself on the wrong end of the new Act.

Service providers’ liability

ICT service providers such as Web masters or administrators may be held criminally responsible for a defamatory publication by a user if they are found to have negligently allowed, or enabled, the publication complained of.

Under the Act, ICT service providers (ISPs, telcos, etc) would attract criminal liability if they actively monitor the use of their services by subscribers in the absence of a court order; or where, due to their negligence, such unauthorised monitoring is conducted by an employee.

Monitoring is only to be authorized by the court through a specifically termed court order under strictly prescribed guidelines and supervision by the court.

‘It is now possible to admit into court evidence derived from mobile phones.’

The Act also prescribes certain procedural tools to enable law enforcement to obtain, preserve and protect electronic evidence from being manipulated or tampered with. Procedures for search and the provision of assistance to law enforcement are also provided for.

Jurisdictions

The new law necessitated some amendments, perhaps the most notable of which relates to the Evidence Act. These were primarily to enable the admissibility of electronic evidence which was previously not possible.

It is now possible to admit into court evidence derived from mobile phones, which was previously restricted by the narrow definition accorded to “computer” and “computerised information”.

‘We cannot legally complain of a wrongdoing, for instance, online (bank) fraud if it’s not an offence in our country!’

Cybercrime knows no jurisdictional boundaries and is capable of being committed over multiple jurisdictions. Accordingly, the investigation and prosecution of Cybercrime hinges on the doctrine of dual criminality.

This means that in order for our police, or courts, to deal with a foreign offender, both our jurisdiction and the jurisdiction in which the offender is domiciled or resident must have similar criminal provisions.

Without dual criminality other mechanisms such as extradition for the purpose of prosecution, would be futile. And of course, we cannot legally complain of a wrongdoing of, for instance, online (bank) fraud if it’s not an offence in our country!

Penalties

The penalties and imprisonment terms may be regarded  at face value as rather extreme, but it must be appreciated that in the formulation of these penalties the following concerns needed to be taken into account –

1. the level of anonymity one is able to enjoy in cyberspace;
2. the far reaching, often unpredictable damage or loss that can result from the commission of an offence (the losses may range from nothing to millions of kina); and
3. more often than not, the inherent level of sophistication of the perpetrator.

The cited maximum penalty is not mandatory. A maximum penalty is set to accord the court sufficient discretion when considering the penalties that ought to be imposed in a given set of circumstances.

Monetary penalties can range from zero to the maximum amount prescribed. For custodial sentences, the term of imprisonment can only be imposed up to, and not exceeding, the maximum term prescribed. Such elasticity was necessary.

Not sinister

The Cybercrime Code Act 2016 is not the result of some sinister ploy by the Government to shut out our right to freedom of speech (which in any case, is a qualified Constitutional right) or opinions on corruption.

It is a law that has been a long time coming and should have been enacted years ago.

It is highly technical because it deals with sophisticated technology. If in doubt, therefore, it would be advisable to seek legal advice or guidance prior to engaging in public commentary regarding the new Act.

Zinnia Dawidi is a board member of the National Information and Communications Technology Authority’s (NICTA) Universal Access and Service Secretariat (UAS).

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The potential for improved financial and other services delivered via the internet in Papua New Guinea is high, the nation’s top bankers tell Business Advantage PNG. But costs have to fall first.

Moses Liu, Managing Director of PNG’s National Development Bank (NDB), told ‘Business Advantage Boardroom‘, a new business program aired on EMTV earlier this month, that geographical isolation is the main challenge.

The NDB’s Moses Liu  Source: EMTV

‘We find that a common factor is that most of our customers are rural-based and the terrain is difficult to access,’ he says.

‘So, electronic banking has a lot of appeal.’

Liu says if broadband was available cheaper then current uptake trends on phone usage, SMS banking and electronic funds transfer indicate there could be a significant potential upside.

‘Interestingly, that is on the way up: smart phones with the latest apps. We are no different from Kenya, with 50 per cent of GDP transacted through the mobile phone. PNG is no different. We have the same geographic set up.

‘We have seen the new products through the mobile phones.’

‘We need to improve the telecommunications framework and the cost of doing business through that particular mode would be much more affordable.’

Financial inclusion

The Bank of Papua New Guinea’s Loi Bakani Source: EMTV

Loi Bakani, Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, says improving financial inclusion is a priority. ‘We have seen the new products through the mobile phones. It enables a lot of people to get access; you have seen how more people are on mobile phones.

‘For people in rural areas, it really reduces the cost of travel to access financial services in urban towns or cities. The market in PNG is big and there are a lot of people who are not into the financial sector yet. That is why we are trying to get them into financial sector and start a journey to improve their livelihood.’

Bakani says some new products are being used on mobile phone platforms.

‘The biggest one we see now is insurance: premiums being paid by mobile phones. We have seen a lot of people signing up for mobile phone products.’ He says voluntary super is another growth area.

Barriers

The promise may be there but the barriers to reducing costs remain considerable. Todd McInnis of Deloitte Access Economics in a  presentation earlier this year claimed PNG’s broadband prices are the highest in the Pacific.

‘Another way to make gains is to strengthen mobile money ecosystems around PNG’s resource projects.’

He says the PNG-specific issues are skill shortages, mountainous terrain, low population density and landowner relations. Developing a ‘holistic ICT industry strategy,’ strengthening regulatory frameworks and improving governance are ways to make gains, he argues.

Resources link

According to a paper for the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining for the University of Queensland, another way to make gains is to strengthen mobile money ecosystems around PNG’s resource projects.

‘We do need to get cost effective, efficient and really low cost broadband so we can pump the product out.’

The report says this can improve the distribution of payments to local communities; strengthen the ‘social license to operate’ for resources companies; and enhance financial inclusion efforts in PNG’s mining, oil and gas regions.

Robin Fleming, Chief Executive of Bank South Pacific, says there is high potential growth, but he, too, believes cost is the issue. He says the implementation of PNG’s National Broadband Network, due for early 2017, may well be a trigger point ‘but you have got to reduce the costs’.

Fleming says banking products that use SMS codes especially show promise.

‘We do need to get cost-effective, efficient and really low cost broadband so we can pump the product out so the users at the other end can access it without spending more on telecommunication costs than they do on bank fees.’

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Perseverance and execution are the keys to being a successful businessperson, according to Panu Kasar, one of the 12 finalists in the Kumul GameChangers Competition, which is designed to ‘bring to life’ ideas from the private sector. He explains his philosophy to Business Advantage PNG.

Panu Kasar. Credit: Sunday Chronicle

‘Ideas are just ideas. I’ve learnt that execution is the key to any business,’ says Panu Kasar, as he reflects on what he has learnt from the Kumul GameChangers competition so far.

‘It is those who persevere and face challenges that bring their ideas into reality.

‘Concentrated, focused effort against the odds will make an entrepreneur succeed in any endeavour. That realisation has changed my mindset towards people stealing my ideas. They can have the same idea as me, but it is the executor that stands out to succeed.’

Since graduating in 2006 from the University of PNG with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in electronics, Kasar has been running a computer repair business, Itel PNG Microtech Ltd.

‘I never wanted to find a job and simply be an employee,’ he tells Business Advantage PNG.

‘The basis of his entrepreneurial plan is to use business innovation to improve the lives of Papua New Guineans.’

For five years, he operated his business in Port Moresby, establishing networks and carrying out PC repairs for business and government organisations. He spent the next three years in Lae, before returning to the capital to take part in the Kumul GameChangers program.

His entrepreneurial plan is to use business innovation to improve the lives of Papua New Guineans. In the GameChangers program, he worked with two other participants to develop health software.

Bright ideas

Kasar has two other potential ideas. One involves distributing vitamins and other necessities to pregnant women in rural areas.

‘At the moment I’m working on a start-up called Daysmen Luminous, which is a business I registered in 2012. The business is about distribution of glow-in-the-dark products and accessories. The main product I’m trying to sell is a variety of  glow-in-the-dark paints for safety, fashion and landscaping/beautification.

‘It is a lucrative business in terms of selling glow-in-the-dark safety gear to industries in the mining and manufacturing sectors. Gear such as helmets, vests, stickers, safety signs, glowing paint.

‘A third niche market that I’m trying to exploit is landscaping and beautification of our parks and gardens in Port Moresby using the glow-in-the-dark paints. I did a proposal for NCDC to beautify Ela Beach Park.

‘With APEC coming up in 2018, beautifying Ela Beach Park is, well, necessary.’

‘This would make it an awesome park at night and would definitely attract visitors at night. And also help NCDC cut down on electricity costs because they spend a lot of money on light during the festive season.

‘With APEC coming up in 2018, beautifying Ela Beach Park is, well, necessary.’

GameChangers Competition

Game changers Competition Chairman, Anthony Smare

The Kumul GameChangers (KGC) initiative, initiated and implemented by the Kumul Foundation, is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the PNG Business Council, says KGC Chairman, Anthony Smare.

The competition, which is the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea, received more than 680 ideas, of which 42 of the best ideas were shortlisted,’ UNDP spokesman, Assel Tleof, tells Business Advantage PNG. Twelve made it to the finals.

‘Selected entrepreneurs underwent training with Silicon Valley experts and attended a boot-camp on how to build a startup. This helped them to learn the basics of start-up, build and prototype their ideas, try pitching and fundraising approaches.’

The ICT sector is one of six identified by the UNDP, which has the potential to drive private enterprise growth.

Many of the applicants hold graduate and post graduate degrees, according to a UNDP report on the KGC program.

The second phase of the project will identify further opportunities to foster business ideas and bring them to reality.

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While a consultancy’s report has shown that internet costs in Papua New Guinea are amongst the highest in the world, prices are falling. Encouragingly, an agreement announced this week could see internet costs fall even further.

An optical fibre patch panel at an Internet Exchange. Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0

The country’s major internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to establish a Neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) facility in Port Moresby, according to the ICT regulator, the National Information and Communication Technology Authority (NICTA).

NICTA’s Charles Punaha

NICTA CEO Charles Punaha told a media conference in Port Moresby that bmobile-Vodafone, Telikom PNG and Digicel will share the K200,000 (US$62,000) cost of the exchange and he was hopeful that Google would also join the venture.

Punaha reportedly said that the cost of internet services could fall by up to 90 per cent. He said it would be completed by December.

The new exchange will increase speed, reliability and cut internet charges in PNG, which are among the highest in the world according to a report prepared for the National Research Institute by Deloitte.

A big deal

Telecommunications analyst Henry Lancaster tells Business Advantage PNG a new IXP (internet exchange point) in developing countries is ‘a big deal’.

The key benefit of an IXP is that local data traffic is distributed locally rather than being sent to an IXP abroad and then back again, which creates additional latency (delays), as well as greater transit costs.

‘A ball park figure is 15-25 per cent savings.’

‘A local IXP makes the entire traffic switching process much more efficient,’ says Lancaster. ‘International traffic is still separated out from local traffic and obviously is routed over international networks and back again.’

The move is likely to be good for local business, as Lancaster explains:

‘Local IXPs are also often touted as business generators, since they provide a hub for local businesses: web hosting, domain name servers, content development and so on.

‘However, the real force for reducing end-user pricing is greater international bandwidth.’

BuddeComm’s Henry Lancaster

Lancaster says as well as improving speeds, a local IXP will reduce costs. ‘A ball park figure is 15–25 per cent savings,’ he says.

Given the high cost of internet access in PNG (see table below), a 25 per cent reduction would be welcomed by businesses and consumers.

Report highlights costs

The recently-released Deloitte report notes that PNG’s cost-per-gigabyte of data is many times that of developed countries.

The report says, with internet costs at around 10–20 per cent of average monthly incomes, access is out of the reach of the majority of PNG citizens.

‘Among the more ‘unusual’ costs imposed on the wholesaler, Telikom PNG, is forced payment for the maintenance costs of the entire 7,000 km stretch of the cable from Sydney to Guam, not just the 80 km local ‘spur’.’

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that for a country to achieve ‘a rapid uptake’ of internet use, the cost needs to be no more than three to five per cent of average monthly incomes.

Currently, less than 10 per cent of the population in PNG has internet access.

Maintenance and reliability

Among the more ‘unusual’ costs identified by the report, Telikom PNG is required to pay for the maintenance costs of the entire 7,000 km stretch of the cable from Sydney to Guam, not just the 80 km local ‘spur’. Cable owner, TPG of Australia gave no reason to Deloitte for this charging structure.

Maintenance costs within PNG are also high, notes the report. The lack of a national road network often means that what might be routine maintenance tasks in some parts of the world become a major exercise in PNG, involving the leasing of helicopters, dedicated security staff, and often the hiring of specialists who need to be brought in from overseas.

Reliability issues mean that businesses use more than one ISP in case one of them goes down.

This duplicates costs, but is necessary because outages ‘are extremely common, often occurring as frequently as once or twice a week’, the Deloitte report notes.

Current internet costs in the Pacific

PNG

The following data costs are indicative only and are taken from advertised rates. We have attempted to compare apples with apples, but costs vary according to, for example, whether the data is part of a bundle, or if fibre cable is used or Ob3 satellite and C-Band backup is used. 

Digicel                         5 GB K897 (bundled)

Bmobile/vodafone    5 GB K225

Telikom                       5 GB K249

Speedcast                    5 GB K260 (email response)

Datec                           4 GB K349

Global                          5 GB K1,000

Fiji

Vodafone                     6 GB        K123.90 (F80.56) Bundled

Digicel                         4 GB        K294.38  (F191.40)

Vanuatu

Digicel                         8 GB K463 (V16,000)

Telecom                      unlimited K288.61 (V 9950)

 

Solomon Islands

Bmobile                       1 GB K457 ($SI 120)

Our Telekom               1 GB K612 ($SI 500)

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Marketing never stays still. Robert Hamilton-Jones returns to the city of his birth to find out how digital technology is raising customers’ expectations to new heights.

‘It’s no longer about digital marketing; it’s about marketing in a digital world.’ So argued the keynote speaker at the 2016 edition of the Festival of Marketing, Keith Weed. The festival was held in London’s Docklands last month.

Unilever’s Keith Weed Source: Festival of Marketing

Weed is head of marketing and communications at the multinational Unilever, which owns many of the world’s most recognisable consumer brands. He was making the point that digital technologies have utterly transformed the business landscape.

It may be true from his perspective as a global brand manager, but how relevant is it to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands?

‘No longer are we in an economy of products and services, experiences are what matter.’

The transformation is less advanced, but it is undeniably occurring. It can be seen, for example, when customers check in for a flight with Air Niugini online, or bank via the BSP phone app.

High-end hotels and restaurants in PNG are as conscious of Tripadvisor reviews as their counterparts anywhere else. Retail businesses are coming to terms with the opportunity social media provides their customers to provide instant ‘feedback’.

The experience economy

Jamie Brighton, UK marketing executive for US software giant Adobe, told the festival that one of the consequences of this process was that the customer experience becomes paramount.

The 2016 Festival of Marketing in London Source: Festival of Marketing

‘No longer are we in an economy of products and services: experiences are what matter,’ he said. ‘Companies are using all the data they have about their customers to engage with them in real time. The challenge is to delight the customer at every turn.’

But surely businesses have always set out to delight their customers? What has changed?

The point is that customers’ expectations have never been higher. So, the onus is on companies to leverage the technology and data at their disposal to differentiate themselves.

In practice, that means creating a personalised, compelling customer experience at every touchpoint, from websites and mobile apps to retail environment—or risk being ‘disrupted’ by a competitor who does.

Moreover, the bar is constantly rising: ‘A five star experience today is tomorrow a one star take-it-or-leave it experience,’ notes Brighton.

B2B

What about in the business-to-business space? Is it entering the ‘experience era’ as well, or do the same old rules still apply?

According to an excellent presentation from British Telecom (BT), B2B decision-makers should be treated in exactly the same way as regular consumers (B2C).

‘Smart B2B marketers need to understand what really motivates their prospective customers.’

A rational argument is not necessarily the most powerful tool in B2B. ‘In fact, it’s the opposite,’ BT marketing executives Claire Sadler and Zaid Al-Qassab explained. They said that even when making decisions on behalf of their company, an individual’s own personal agenda was typically twice as influential in their decision as the interests of their employer.

A common example of this is someone who selects an airline or hotel for a company business trip because they are members of its loyalty program, regardless of price. Smart B2B marketers need to understand what really motivates their prospective customers.

Case study

The BT case study was based on their award-winning ‘#seewhathappens’ B2B campaign. This celebrated the power of relationships in business by appealing to its audience on an emotional level, rather than putting forward rational arguments.

The campaign’s execution included this simple but feel-good video.

BT’s campaign offers the chance for decision-makers and influencers to attend a unique series of regional business networking sessions around the UK, held in partnership with national broadsheet, The Daily Telegraph.

Now, doesn’t that sound like a great experience?

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