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Good practice Imported

Papua New Guinea Rural Communications Project

Papua New Guinea · Port Moresby · See the Papua New Guinea profile · See the Port Moresby profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 23% 92/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A US$7.3M World Bank-financed subsidy paid operator Digicel to build 59 solar-powered base stations in unserved areas (2014-2015), giving an estimated 500,000 rural Papua New Guineans first-time telephony access and lifting rural coverage from ~20% to ~90%.

59
Mobile base stations built (2014–2015)
~500,000
Rural residents gaining first-time telephony access
~20% → ~90%
Rural population coverage (2009–2015)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
National ICT Authority (NICTA) & PNG Department of Communication and Information
Period
2009-2017
Keywords
rural broadband, universal access fund, mobile connectivity, telecom infrastructure subsidy, digital divide

Context

Approved in 2009 under US$15 million World Bank IDA financing, Papua New Guinea's Rural Communications Project used a US$7.3 million competitive output-based subsidy, awarded to Digicel PNG in May 2014, to extend basic mobile coverage into rural and remote areas the market alone would not serve.

Results

Digicel built 59 mostly solar-powered base stations across all four regions in 2014–15, giving an estimated 500,000 rural residents first-time telephony access; rural coverage rose from around 20% (2009) to roughly 90% (2014–15). 54 of 59 towers remain operational — five were lost to vandalism, theft and land disputes — and operators prioritised 2G voice, leaving fixed broadband below 1% penetration.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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