Starlink license under court review

The licensing of Starlink in Papua New Guinea is now under court review following criticisms by the general public.

National Information and Communication Technology Authority board chairman Noel Mobiha revealed that the matter has been brought before the National Court of Justice for judicial review.  

“In light of references made in traditional and social media over the past six months querying the licensing of Starlink in Papua New Guinea, I confirm that the matter is now subject to a judicial review proceeding before the National Court of Justice at Waigani filed as OS(JR) No. 66 of 2024 — Hon. Timothy Masiu MP & Others v Richard Pagen & Others,” Mobiha said in a media statement.

“Given the sub judice status of the case, no further comments will be made until the court has handed down its final decision.”

In January this year, ICT minister Timothy Masiu made a ground-breaking announcement that NICTA granted Starlink a 5-year license to operate in PNG.

The operator license would allow SpaceX’s Starlink to establish, maintain and operates its satellite network and provide internet services within the country.

This announcement sparked public debate and has been widely discussed on social media over the controversial permitting of license by PNG’s telecommunication watchdog.

However, minister Masiu said the announcement in January was essentially an intent based on the decision of the NICTA board to grant an approval in principal to Starlink.

He denied granting the permit for Elon Musk’s company to provide internet service, but, said negotiations on the terms and conditions of the license are ongoing.

Reports have also emerged that Starlink terminals have been confiscated by Customs as these items are deemed illegal without proper authorization by NICTA.