Session 4: Improving access bandwidth, reliability and reducing cost of Internet to support the achievement of MTDP III Aspirations

Transcription

1 National Information and Communications Technology Authority CIMC - National Development Forum Theme: Translating MTDP III into improved and sustainable livelihood for PNG Session 4: Improving access bandwidth, reliability and reducing cost of Internet to support the achievement of MTDP III Aspirations Kila Gulo-Vui A/CEO NICTA 30 th October 1 November 2018, Lamana Hotel,Port Moresby Papua New Guinea

2 Discussion Agenda PNG Context Key policy and regulatory instruments National Broadband Policy (2014) Universal Access and Service Regime Wholesale service review Retail prices public inquiry National broadband infrastructure International broadband infrastructure Prospects

3 The PNG social and economic context 8 million population 461,690 km 2 land mass 80% 85% of population live in rural and remote communities of population with no access to banks or financial services US$2,166 GDP per capita 68% literacy rate US$43 weekly minimum wage

4 Accessing the Internet 70,000 fixed lines 2,000 fixed broadband 3.2 million mobile subscribers 0.9 million mobile broadband combination of satellite and limited submarine cable services for international and internet connectivity submarine capacity from PNG is limited to 1 Gbps from Port Moresby and 10 Gbps from Madang. Caching is improving A very small proportion of population has access to a computer or similar device (other than mobile handsets) for accessing the internet Wholesale broadband access is expensive, and the data rates available to retail customers is low. Broadband services are of poor quality and unreliable Internet access has relied heavily on wireless, particularly cellular mobile technologies The last mile connection to broadband services will still be heavily reliant on wireless into the foreseeable future.

5 3G Coverage 2G Coverage 4G Coverage Mobile Coverage 2G Area Population Total Uncovered % Population % Uncovered Coverage Population Population Coverage Population National 5,907,344 7,275,324 1,367,980 81% 19% 3G Area Population Total Uncovered % Population % Uncovered Coverage Population Population Coverage Population National 3,711,227 7,275,324 3,564,097 51% 49% 4G Area Population Total Uncovered % Population % Uncovered Coverage Population Population Coverage Population National 1,429,304 7,275,324 5,846,020 20% 80%

6 Connectivity Status

7 Key instruments in the PNG toolkit for developing internet infrastructure and services Pro-competitive regulation the National ICT Act requires NICTA to facilitate competition as a key engine of sector growth Pro-investment regulation the National ICT Act requires NICTA to give high priority to maintaining incentives for sector investment in its decisions National Broadband Policy framework Medium Term Development Plan III Universal and Access Service Regime, where commercial considerations do not work Wholesale and access regulation and retail service regulation

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9 KRA 2- Quality Infratsructure & Utilities (Internet) 2.12 Proportion of Population with access to internet (%) 16 80

10 National Broadband Policy (2014) facilitating the development of all elements of supply, demand and institutional readiness to support a broadband eco-system in PNG Achieve higher economic growth and economic efficiency while ensuring sustainability Promote social growth and cohesion Improve health service delivery Enhancing Global Integration and International Relations Improvement in the efficiency of key sectors of the economy, and especially for primary resources, agriculture and fisheries A download speed of 512kbps is considered to be the initial entry level or basic service, but we will need move one from here

11 Data Usage Search for information Data Usage From Mobile Connections Data and OTT Usage Demand Side Social networks (E.g. Facebook) Mail Listen to music, watch videos Read the news Download music, movies Online gaming Instant messaging (e.g. Line, Whatsapp) Download software Phone calls (e.g. Skype) Bank transactions Search jobs Buy or sell a product or service Others

12 Why Broadband? Key driver of economic growth and national competitiveness 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration in low and middle income countries accelerates economic growth by 1.38 percentage points Businesses opportunities, job creation Socio-economic impact E-government, civil registration, e- education, e-health, e-commerce Inclusive growth

13 What is Broadband? No just a hig speed network network E-government, civil registration, e- education, e-health, e-commerce Broadband defined as an ecosystem Networks Inclusive growth Consumers Network Services

14 Supply Gaps between current status and desired status Reasonable prices, terms and conditions for capacity on international (sub-marine) fibre optic cables; Capacity and redundancy on the domestic main transmission backbone (fibre optic and microwave); Capacity on the sub transmission network - connecting the access network to the main transmission; Access networks optimised for data / Internet to reach the end-users (current rural areas networks are limited to mostly 2G mobile and VSAT); and A retail price structure that is affordable for rural users of Internet access.

15 Demand Side Public education and awareness to highlight utility and value of Internet use; A program to assist ministries of Government to establish capabilities for Internet based transactions that are relevant and accessible to rural communities; Establishment of ICT programs in schools and training teachers to use ICT and teach ICT programs; Promotional efforts by operators to encourage Internet use in their marketing together with Internet access devices (phones, tablets, laptops - possibly with suitable solar recharge tools) that are suitable and viable in rural areas where electricity supply is limited; and Efforts to encourage local administrators and communities to facilitate expanded Internet access under suitable local arrangements.

16 Internet and Broadband Take Up? A combination of more affordable supply and demand stimulation has the prospect of taking traffic level over a tipping point from which continuation of the cycle of falling price per unit and increasing demand provides the stimulus to accelerate Internet use and bring about the necessary appreciation and exploitation of benefits of this use

17 Universal Access and Service (UAS) Regime Part V of National Information and Communications Technology Act 2009 Administered by NICTA (UAS Secretariat) Project driven encourage the development of ICT infrastructure and improve the availability of ICT services within PNG, including in rural communities UAS Board Projects approved by Minister for ICT UAS Fund UAS Strategic Planning Report UAS Levy 2% of operator gross revenue less interconnection Donor funding, vendor funding etc

18 UAS Strategic Planning Facilitate the expansion of broadband mobile telephone network coverage throughout all unserved areas of PNG, toward the goal of Universal Service in broadband mobile telephony Universal Access to Mobile Broadband Services Public Community Broadband Support the introduction and expansion of public high-speed Broadband Internet connections in local PNG communities, including connectivity for public institutions and public access facilities, to help increase broadband Internet access and utilization Mission Promote universal access and usage of ICT services Vision Support for ICT utilization and demand initiatives, including content and applications, digital literacy, and affordable devices, to ensure that all PNG citizens can take advantage of and benefit from modern communications technologies and services Support for ICT Utilization and Demand Promote development of ICT sector Expansion of Broadcasting Network Coverage Facilitate efforts to increase the coverage of broadcasting signals to all populated areas of PNG, allowing all citizens to receive radio and television broadcasts

19 UAS Strategic Planning Targets Target 100% of PNG s population covered by reliable advanced wireless mobile telecommunications network signals (at least 3G+ quality). Priority Establishing advanced mobile network coverage in all unserved local population centers (LLGs) with at least 20,000 inhabitants Universal Access to Mobile Broadband Services Mission Promote universal access and usage of ICT services Public Community Broadband Target Establishing approximately 40 sites Priority Establishing sites in Provincial and District Capitals Target National penetration of broadband Internet subscribers and users (mobile and/or fixed) will increase to at least 25% of total population by 2022 Priority Increasing ICT awareness, capacity, and demand in selected rural and underserved areas where new network access connections or upgrades are provided Support for ICT Utilization and Demand Vision Promote development of ICT sector Expansion of Broadcasting Network Coverage Target 100% coverage of population centers by broadcast signals, and 100% accessibility in PNG households Priority Expand TV and radio signal coverage in parallel with mobile network rollout, starting with all unserved local population centers (LLGs) with at least 20,000 inhabitants

20 Market Access Gap Analysis

21 Mobile Internet Project 3G extend rural and remote coverage thru upgrade of mobile base stations 59 sites US$5 million 500, , 000

22 Completed Projects Demonstration Projects Voice telephony 3G Mobile internet Facilitate the achievement of accelerated mobile phone expansion Improve mobile broadband in under-served areas PGK37 million subsidies awarded through competitive bidding facilitate the adoption of ICT services supports wide range of business & employment generation

23 Digicel Construction of Site - Kore, Central Province Site Specifications: 30m Tower Solar Power System 20x20m Fencing Digicel Site, Paiam, Enga Province

24 Current Projects Connect the Schools Deliver broadband internet to all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions 8 Teachers Colleges Collaboration between Department of Education and NICTA Balob Morobe (500) PNGEI NCD (500) Dauli Hela (300) Enga Enga (400) Gaulim ENB (400) Madang Madang (550) Nazarene Jiwaka (250) Holy Trinity WHP (400) Internet access for two (2) years fully funded by NICTA for subsidy of K2.6 million Minimum of 2Mbps with 4:1 contention Public WiFi access for surrounding community

25 Wholesale services review NICTA is currently undertaking a public inquiry to review whether certain types of wholesale service access should be regulated. Amongst the services are: National broadband capacity services supplied by fibre International submarine cable broadband capacity Telecommunication towers The second of these is already regulated, and the issue is whether some form of regulated access is required for the future NICTA is obliged to consider competition and efficiency criteria under the Act, and that includes ensuring that incentives for investment are maintained

26 Retail price inquiry Retail internet prices have reduced significantly over the past decade They are still not affordable in practice for most of the population The main means of access is via mobile services Recently some operators increased mobile data prices or withdraw other offerings Competition is insufficient in this sector to prevent this NICTA is now considering a public inquiry to bring consumer and business customer pressure to bear and to hold service providers accountable It is important that retail prices be as low as possible to boost demand and enable scale economies to work for us

27 National fibre broadband capacity infrastructure This is the route of the LNP-Highlands fibre backbone project run by DataCo the Government owned wholesale operator The linkages is with existing submarine cable systems terminating in Port Moresby and Madang The green missing link requires new investment Source: DataCo

28 International submarine cable systems This is the route of the Coral Sea Cable system which is expected to be operational by the end of 2019 It connects PNG, Solomon Is and Australia and then further connects trans- Pacific cable systems This infrastructure will remove current capacity shortages and be a major milestone in further reducing internet prices for all customers in PNG

29 Prices toea per min Impact on Affordability Annual Income USD Colour Legend Minimum wage GNI per capita On-net peak call Off-net peak call

30 PRICE IN KINA Millions PNG Case Broadband Penetration & Cost - Steady (but slow) growth in broadband penetration as well as reduced cost of accessing broadband in recent years (until recently) have contributed to a high level of demand and consumption for data services. - OTT services such as Facebook and Youtube constitute a significant proportion of data volume consumed Mobile Broadband Penetration -PNG Retail Prepaid Internet Price trend for 1GB Data Plan Penetration Low High Mid Average Wholesale Mobile Subscribers Mobile Broadband (3G/4G) Subscribers Proportion of Mobile Broadband Subscribers per 100 Inhabitants (Mobile Broadband Penetration) Source: NICTA Estimates

31 PNG Internet Exchange Point Inauguration of PNGIXP in May 2017 Initially, 4 ISP s were connected to share local IX content at 80mbps PNG s total internet bandwidth capacity now peaking at 1.7Gbp/s of traffic Key Benefits: reduced cost of internet from IXP, improved end user experience (QoS), substantial cost savings to local ISP s

32 Increasing PNGIXP s value PNGIXP, in collaboration with international partners, will continue to improve end user experience as well as drive retail internet rates down PNGIXP peering with CDN caches Google, Akamai and Facebook. PNGIXP is also open to membership from non traditional IXP members including banks, educational institutions etc

33 Challenges Sparse population and Illiteracy Lack of electricity Encourage the use of Solar and other green power solutions Land issues Systematic approach to Land Acquisition Logistics (Access to remote areas) Vandalism/ Theft Work with Local Communities to support initiatives High business and operational costs Scalable ICT Solutions conducive to the setting Lack of robust domestic backbone network Infrastructure Sharing with other sectors Forex Issues Have financial arrangements with foreign suppliers

34 The prospects for the future of internet infrastructure and services Coral Sea Cable Australia, Solomon Islands and PNG National Transmission Network Kumul Cable System Potential for growth and real progress towards universal broadband Holistic approach is important and necessary within the broadband ecosystem we are addressing both demand and supply side issues Demand-side is critical ensuring training and awareness is provided to communities and individuals There is a massive challenge ahead for PNG, however the first of a number of diverse steps have been taken towards achieving universal broadband in PNG

35 THANK YOU!