SpeedCast International Ltd has opened an office in
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), to support the
company’s growing customer base in the energy and
enterprise markets. SpeedCast has been operating in the
country for more than 10 years with an international
gateway and self-sufficient standalone teleport, but
this is its first office facility in PNG. The team
includes 10 employees who focus on operations,
engineering, sales and local support.
Our new office in Papua New Guinea shows our commitment to
investing in the country,” said Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO,
SpeedCast. “We are pleased to employ local, highly skilled and
trained workers that support our customers in the country.”
Through the years, SpeedCast has built a strong presence in
PNG through the installation of communication infrastructure and
a number of acquisitions including Pactel International in 2013
and Oceanic Broadband in 2014. SpeedCast installed one of the
first licensed international gateways since the ICT bill was
introduced in 2009, which enacted de-regulation of mobile
telephony including international calling and retail
price-setting. In 2015, SpeedCast installed two O3b terminals in
Port Moresby and Lae and extensive wireless networks to provide
ultra-low latency, fibre-speed connectivity to businesses in
these two capitals.
SpeedCast has made major strides in PNG’s oil and gas market
by working with companies such as InterOil (now owned by
ExxonMobil). SpeedCast supported the construction phase of the
InterOil PNG LNG (liquefied natural gas), a $19 billion project
with a goal of efficiently and cost effectively commercializing
the gas resources of PNG. SpeedCast provided both primary
satellite links and worker construction camps connectivity,
supporting up to 3,000 individuals. In 2014, through its support
of InterOil, SpeedCast was awarded the PNG LNG communications
project, which relied on SpeedCast’s country-wide VSAT networks
to provide connectivity to 26 remote drilling sites that were
only accessible via helicopter. SpeedCast installed
communications equipment and solutions to quickly and seamlessly
enable end-to-end communications for on-the-ground teams.
In addition, SpeedCast supports the second largest mobile
carrier in the country, bmobile-vodafone, through
cost-effective, reliable services for people in remote
locations. SpeedCast has made this possible by installing
satellite links to support telephony to the core network in Port
Moresby. SpeedCast also provides internet and voice services for
the Manus Island Offshore Processing Centre.
“Looking ahead, Papua New Guinea is preparing for the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that will take place
in 2018. There’s a large investment being made in the country
for the summit, which will be attended by many high-profile
heads of state from around the Pacific region. SpeedCast is
happy to play a role in building out the country’s communication
infrastructure which will help to support the local economy,”
Beylier said.
