PNG Government owned Telecommunication Companies target Digicel

Papua New Guinea Government owned communications companies Telikom, bmobile-Vodafone and PNG DataCo must unite their resources to become competitive against Digicel or any other foreign-owned communication operators, says a Kumul Telikom Holdings spokesperson.
Kumul Telikom’s unions are currently on strike with concerns over employee entitlements and redundancies amidst the the planned merger of Telikom, bmobile-Vodafone and PNG DataCo.
Communications Workers Union representatives and Kumul Telikom senior management met last week, with the company maintaining and confirming that all staff entitlements were secure and that there were no plans for redundancy or retrenchment.
“The strike action continues to delay the company’s plans to consolidate its resources, so that it can offer competitive, affordable and reliable services to its customers’, the Kumul Telikom spokesperson said.
“Whilst unions and disgruntled employees focus on themselves, mobile internet consumers continue to suffer the high cost of internet.”
Kumul Telikom senior management have indicated that by joining mobile resources between bmobile-Vodafone and Kumul Telikom, there would be opportunities to maximise retail sales distribution and network coverage.
It will enable more customer growth, increased opportunities for people to join Kumul Telikom’s 4G/LTE network.
Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments William Duma confirmed there were no plans to transfer assets, however, he said that the companies needed to work together to offer more to the people.
“We need to unite these businesses, bring them together so that they can compete against Digicel and other overseas service providers,” the spokesperson said.
“Our people are still paying a high cost to communicate.
“Prices are not coming down.
“If we are divided, we cannot compete. Together, we are competitive.
“We must join our forces and deliver services to our people.”
Since Digicel’s arrival into PNG in 2007, it has grown consistently, across the country.
Digicel’s huge investments have generated monopolies in the communications and media industries.
They control both urban and rural centres.
Kumul Telikom senior management hope that they can resolve the union ‘sit-in’ quickly, so that plans to improve service offerings can commence.

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