As originally published on Post Courier Online (PNG)
The National Information and Communication Technology Authority will be reviewing the retail internet pricing to include all cable systems.
NICTA chief executive ocer Charles Punaha said this is to clear the misconception in the market about the dierent prices presently previously by NICTA and DataCo.
Mr Punaha said when NICTA initially undertook a public enquiry into the pricing of the Coral Sea cable its recommended price was K185 but have received request from DataCo for a review on price determination. He said this was because the price only covered was from Sydney to Port Moresby however there is also a cost element that DataCo has to negotiate with the retail customers to take the capacity from the landing station at Kila Barracks to their premises.
“That is the issue now we are looking at.
As part of the review process of the price we have determined we are now going to look at taking the capacity from here right through to the customer premises so it will be one price for the whole supply chain,” he said.
“There is an aspect that we have not addressed although it is covered under the we call the broadband specic pricing principles where we expect DataCo to utilise the pricing principle which provides for cost anti
discrimination and anti competitive.
They are supposed to use that but we are aware that this has now create a situation where retail customers are now coming back to DataCo and say that where is the pricing that you have promised us,” he added.
Punaha said to complete the process they are now going to review the price from Sydney to the landing station and onto customers in order to have one price for the whole supply chain.
PNG DataCo chief executive ocer Paul Komboi said the review will also take into account the Kumul Submarine Cable. “The pricing determination only looked at the Coral Sea cable and the PPC1 that’s two separate system. What we have proposed and discussed with NICTA is to look at it as a complete system together including the Kumul submarine cable, Coral Sea, PPC1 and the terrestrial cable we have going up to the highlands provinces,”Mr Komboi said.
“Our pricing now will be cost based on all the cost that we currently acquiring in operating the infrastructure so from there now we can be able to price accordingly meaning the price will uniformed across the country and then you can be able to see cost saving being passed down to the consumer or the end user.
Hopefully by July or August we can be able to come up with that pricing and NICTA will be making that announcement,” he said.
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