| NICTA response - 22/04/2020 |
| National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) |
| TELECOM/ICT Policy Makers and Regulators | Asia & Pacific | Papua New Guinea |
| As the National ICT Regulator, the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) is obligated to provide accurate information relating to ICT matters to the general public and wishes to make the following statement: -There are no current or planned deployments of 5G technology in Papua New Guinea and NICTA has not issued a license to any operator to provide 5G services. -The claimed linkage between 5G (or any other telecommunications technology) and COVID-19 is absolutely false, and without any foundation whatsoever. -Health information about COVID-19 should be obtained from the Department of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) and not from unreliable sources. -NICTA urges Facebook, other social media platforms and group administrators to remove any fake news relating to COVID-19. -Vandalising of telecommunications infrastructure will affect telecommunications services including calls, data and broadcasting services which are classified as essential services. -Tampering with telecommunications equipment, infrastructure and obstruction of ICT operations, are offences subject to severe penalties under the NICT Act 2009; andGenerating and spreading misinformation are offences subject to severe penalties under the Cyber Crime Act and Orders under State of Emergency. We need our telecommunications, including broadcasting services and infrastructure to be secure, fully operational and totally reliable at times like these and to fight COVID-19. |
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