Tower sharing welcomed

The decision by telecommunication companies to share towers in Papua New Guinea, has been welcomed by the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Communications.

Committee Chairman, and Wau Waria MP, Marsh Narewec in a statement, says that this decision is a step in the right direction, because it will expand mobile and internet connectivity, across the country.

Narewec said that his committee made a recommendation in 2025, to make tower sharing mandatory, but the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA), advised them that the telecommunication companies have agreed to voluntarily do it in September this year.

He said that he is grateful to see Digicel and Vodafone sign their co-location agreement on September 9, 2026, followed by Digicel and Telikom in October 16, 2026, roughly making available 1,200 Digicel towers, and Telikom’s 600 towers nationwide.

Narewec also said that the agreements are expected to lower retail internet and voice call costs for consumers, by reducing infrastructure maintenance costs, and risks for operators.

He also said that this deal will see the operators share the physical tower sites, but they will continue to compete independently on service and pricing.