Next-generation broadband satellite operator Kacific Broadband Satellites Group has partnered with recently launched mobile service provider Vodafone PNG to deploy the satellite operator’s mobile backhaul services in Papua New Guinea.
This, say the partners, will help to greatly expand Vodafone PNG’s voice and 3G/4G data network into rural areas of the country.
Vodafone PNG has committed to wholesale bandwidth delivered by Kacific’s high-speed Ka-band satellite, Kacific1. The cost-effective mobile backhaul bandwidth will primarily be used for voice and data and will serve both residential and enterprise end-users.
Vodafone PNG successfully launched in April this year. It is now in the process of rapidly expanding its network and customer base.
Papua New Guinea is a nation of nine million inhabitants using over 3.3 million mobile connections leading to a mobile penetration of 36%. 3G coverage currently reaches around 73% of the population.
It is also the world's third largest island country by size with one of the lowest population densities in the world. Thus, satellite services are well-placed to meet the challenge of the varied geography and dispersed population.
The Kacific1 satellite provides widespread coverage in Papua New Guinea, including the main islands of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville and the surrounding smaller islands and waters.
This isn’t the only satcoms deal announced by the new operator this year. In June Vodafone PNG announced an agreement with satellite operator SES to partner to provide 4G and 5G mobile broadband services using SES’s O3b medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation.