Telikom is in damage control yet again on fears to be caught with their "pants down" on the competition front.
------------------------------------------
Telikom scared of competition: rival
Thursday, 29 March 2007
A RIVAL telecommunications company has accused state-owned PNG supplier Telikom of intentionally delaying competition in the PNG telecommunications industry, according to news reports.
The Post-Courier newspaper reported that Caribbean-based supplier Digicel had described a court case brought against the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission by Telikom as a "final attempt" to delay the emergence of competition.
"We continue to work closely with the Government and regulator towards liberalisation of the telecoms market in PNG," Digicel said.
The ICCC has made moves to bring forward the termination of Telikom's monopoly on mobile phone services from October 16 to the end of this month.
Digicel and part locally-owned company Dawamiba have been granted licences to provide mobile phone services in PNG.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
We gonna see alot of head rolls from no jobs when digicel and the other company comes in town. Trim down and cost efficency. I welcome competition so telikom, ready to face real deal.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Competition is OK, but who owns the Digicel and Green Com?
No score for this post
June 3 2007, 9:55 AM
I seek another National company not another flyby nighter, sorry, mind you on my ugly patriotic gut.
We will all be alot wiser on who provides the best services, better prices, and pleases everyone and keeps the market may be later not today, still early days...
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Re: Competition is OK, but who owns the Digicel and Green Com?
No score for this post
June 3 2007, 2:17 PM
I agree that PNG is a tough market to work in. Only PNGeans through PNGeans can stimulate market growth. Early times yet, although I would now realise that Telikom PNG have been anticipating competition for years and would have some ACEs of CLUBS up the sleeves somewhere.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Digicel launching stinks! The say you can call to anywhere in PNG and the rest of the world but you can't even called the landline or bmobile phone numbers. That means you can't even call the hospital, police and fire brigade if there was an emergency. They are fooling us! they fooled me for sure with the ring tones.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Thats what happen when foreign companies step on government systems without due respect to soverignity. Now we see that government bodies from PNG Power to NCDC are not corporating with digicel.
What a PR Disaster digicel!
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Latest information on Digicel is that, it is still operating in the country. They havent stopped their marketing.
Today ICCC boss (Thomas Abe) took out a full page advertisement in the papers, rebuking claims that Digicels license were revoked because of a new law passed, reserving the rights for Telecom PNG to operate all telecommunication facilities.
Mr. Abe came out strongly against the revocation of license by PANGTEL, saying the Telco law that was passed in last year, allowing competition in the telecommunication industry was used to allow Digicel and GreenCom to operate in the country. They both were sucessful in their bids to operate in the country under the previous law, which still stands. Author Somare's law that was introduced in June was not a law that was endorsed by parliament and in fact that law does not exist to execute any directions.
Even if that law is passed by parliament, both Digicel and Greencom licenses were issue under the previous law and are exceptions to this new law Author Somare will introduce. As such, it was illegall for PANTEL to remove Dicigel's license. Mr. Abe warned that, if Digicel goes to court, the state will be liable to pay-off damages to Digicel.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Before I start this discussion I would like to say that I fully support the idea of “Mobile Competition” in Papua New Guinea. There is so much potential in mobile communications especially the potential of “wireless broadband” in which mobile carriers could tap into so that no longer should I go to an internet café and discussion issues on scape but I can stay at home at do that also or even while drinking a martini on an imaginary boat that I possess.
Heni Goro gave a very interesting analysis (No such thing as open competition) in the Sunday Chronicles and Heni could not have done a better job as I was still trying to rearrange my thoughts. Please be mindful that the Grand Chief is a very patriotic person and will not be influenced by those outside of Papua New Guinea.
That being said, all competition including the mobile competition needs to take place within a solid policy framework which the Government as the protector of people must set in place. The ICT policy was set-up to protect the natural resource of the people of Papua New Guineans. So what is the so-called natural resource? The natural resource was the scarce AIRSPACE that Papua New Guinea owns.
International laws allows for AIRSPACE boundaries for every country including Papua New Guinea. The same can be said for Papua New Guinea’s sea boundaries which are covered under the International laws. The AIRSPACE and sea boundaries are the only natural scarce resources left where millions of kina can be generated with a solid policy framework for Papua New Guinea. We must be very careful on how our AIRSPACE is being used. Very soon Papua New Guinea will start to think about having its own satellite and move away from depending on Optus.
According to Sunday Chronicles commentary by Heni Goro, “The Net-co, Serv-Co model is the only option available – towards a monopolized regime structured to encourage competition”. I believe that was the message that the Grand Chief was giving out but people where too emotional to rationalize this. Papua New Guinea must control is natural resources and as such Common Carrier is a scarce resource.” It is the nerve center of whole telecommunication operation and only the State can have control over it, not outsiders……”
So where does it leave Digicel, GreenCom, and ServCo who are now access seekers under ICT policy that was passed? They can still operate in Papua New Guinea but it must be under the amended ICT policy which ICCC was instructed to issue to them in the NEC Decision 188/2007. I believe it is in the best interest of Digicel to stop these lawsuits and accept the NEC Decision 188/2007 as the Government is hell bent on protecting its scarce natural resource.
...mE
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
