PNG submission to NICTA on pricing

PNG and the Solomon Islands together with the Australian Government established a submarine cable system (Coral Sea 2). This links Sydney with Port Moresby and (on a separate spur) Honiara. The expectation was that abundant international capacity would be reflected in lower retail broadband prices. But this did not happen in PNG primarily due to the lack of retail competition.

The PNG telecoms regulator, NICTA, issued a consultation paper on whether it needed to use regulation to force data prices down. But since it issued that paper, Vodafone entered the market with prices suggesting that competition is now present in that market.

This submission to NICTA looks at what the regulator might consider doing given Vodafone’s entry into the market. PNG – submission to NICTA May 2022