Second communications tower planned for Waria

A second communications tower is planned for the remote Waria area in Morobe, under a partnership between the Wau Waria District Development Authority and PNG DataCo Limited.

The 30-metre carrier-neutral tower will be built at Kamare village, about one kilometre from the Northern Highway.

It will provide mobile and internet coverage to communities in Gataipa, Sim, Gerepo, Wisi and Kasangare, including Kasangare Primary School.

Procurement and shipment of materials are expected to take two months.

Construction is planned to begin in November and finish by February 2027.

The project follows the completion of the first carrier-neutral tower at Kembaka village, which is now in service.

Wau Waria Open MP and DDA chairman Marsh Narewec said the Kamare tower would be available for different mobile network operators.

He said only Vodafone had so far co-located at the Kembaka tower.

“Kembaka was built as a neutral tower, available to all operators.

“We call on Telikom and Digicel to also co-locate at Kembaka and at Kamare.” Narewec said.

Narewec said tower sharing could help reduce costs for operators and eventually lower internet prices for consumers.

The next stage of the Kamare project will include technical surveys and studies before construction begins.