STATEMENT OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA
BY Kila Gulo-Vui, DEPUTY HEAD of PAPUA NEW GUINEA DELEGATION.

Thank you Mr. Chairman, and let me join in with other members in congratulating you on your election as Chairman. I wish you great success in the challenging mission ahead of you.

I would also like to thank the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco along with the Moroccan Delegation for their gracious hosting of this Plenipotentiary in this, the beautiful city of Marrakesh. And of course, to the ITU, the Secretary General and your staff for the preparations of this Conference. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. I bring you warm greetings from Papua New Guinea. It is indeed my honour and privilege to address this session of the Plenipotentiary Conference on behalf of the Government of Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea attaches significant importance to the work of the ITU and eagerly looks forward to this Conference with the expectation that it will provide the direction for the Union to respond to the diverse needs of its membership pursing a common goal of global connectivity so that all citizens on this planet can share in the benefits of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

As a developing nation we recognize the importance of telecommunications to national development. The enhancement of telecommunication services and building of robust telecommunications infrastructure are becoming increasingly important in our national development goals. We have embarked on telecommunications sector reform process - following a typical path that emerged in most countries. Sector reform commenced with the separation of policy, regulatory and service provisions roles in 1997 by corporatisation of the state monopoly. Concrete steps are now being taking to encourage investment in the sector by progressively withdrawing from a role of direct provision of services to a more facilitating role in the provision of telecommunications services through a program of privatization. The establishment of an effective regulatory regime to support this process coupled with a policy framework aimed at creating the necessary conditions for sector development are currently being developed. The reform process is continuing with the eventual opening of the telecommunication market in the not too distant future. And we are indeed grateful to the ITU for assistance rendered to us in this process.

Yet, sector reform is only the first and a fundamental step to improved services as many as 80 percent of our 5 million people remain without basic services today. In a land with 800 different cultures and a population spread thinly over the 800 plus islands and some of the world's most rugged terrain, PNG presents an ultimate challenge for any telecommunications provider. Costs of service provision in our territory bear no comparison to the costs of delivery in many countries. Notwithstanding this we are endeavoring to progressively upgrade and modernize our telecommunications infrastructure. Limited on-island resources and difficulties in accessing global markets place our local industries at a disadvantage to operate and compete. Added to this are imperatives such as new accounting rates and Internet charging arrangements that appear to be imposed upon the developing countries. The developmental path to telecommunications will therefore continue to be very challenging.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates our situation resembles that of many neighboring Pacific Island countries. In the Pacific, our countries share common problems of small markets and low-density populations scattered over thousands of islands covering one third of the world's surface. Isolation, distance, and a small resource base pose challenges that make it difficult for the communities to develop and prosper. The United Nations refers to this dilemma as the "poverty of opportunity" where people's talents, skills and aspirations are frustrated and wasted so denying them the opportunity to live productive and satisfying lives". Yet telecommunications can act as a conduit for opportunity if there is modern information and communications technology infrastructure and broadband connectivity in place. It is saddening to note that despite the quantum leaps in technology, the Pacific is yet to realize its main goals and challenges in telecommunications. Given this background, we do appreciate the various initiatives taken by the ITU in close collaboration with other partners in the area of training and capacity building, sector reform through the Pacific Sector Governance project and more recently the Pacific Islands Tele-centres Rural Extension Project and we look forward to your continued support in the future. We also look to the ITU and this forum to address international policy issues that may be adding to the digital disparity between nations. In this connection the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association of which PNG is a member has raised its concern about the International internet tariff regime and access which appears to disadvantage small island countries. A fairer tariff regime is suggested. Further new traffic routing methods such as refile, while being cost effective, has an adverse effect especially incoming calls on call quality. We call on the ITU to assist and support Island countries to overcome challenges posed by new technologies and cost cutting measures that affect call quality and costs of provision of services in our region.

The technology gap needs to be addressed if these nations are going to benefit from the quantum leaps in technology. For these reasons we submit that this Conference:

• recognizes the unique needs and obstacles being faced by PNG and many other small island nations of the Pacific in bringing digital opportunities to their citizens;
• endorse specific action for these nations that must be included in an ITU contribution to the next World Summit of Information Society; and
• finds practical ways and means to ensure island nations have access to broadband capacity so that these nations can participate in the information society, failing these, the dreams of a global village will remain a dream for many of the Pacific nations.

Over the next couple of weeks this conference will deliberate on the strategic and financial plans of the Union as well as to review the Constitution and Convention so as to ensure the Union remains relevant to the ever changing telecommunications environment and respond to the diverse needs of its membership. The purposes of the Union as set out in the Constitution must be central to these deliberations so as to ensure that balanced and multilateral satisfactory solutions can be devised for the many issues before us.

We assure you, Mr. Chairman, that we have come to this conference with open minds, but we are also conscious of the dangers of the inevitable by product of globalization, which in our view is widening the economic disparity between nations. Whilst, we acknowledge the potential benefits of such reforms, it is equally important that without close supervision it can create havoc as history shows. The sovereign rights of individual member governments of the Union must be respected and we would urge the Union discourage the unilateral application of policy and or procedures.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, the PNG delegation assures you of our support and cooperation and looks forward with all partners in arriving at good and sound decisions, no matter how difficult the process, on the many critical issues which shall bring the ITU and its membership closer to realizing the benefits of technology and make this world a better place for all mankind. I thank you all for you attention.