Mobile Internet prices stable in Papua New Guinea

Vodafone sales outlet at Rangeview Plaza in Port Moresby. Photo by Moses Sakai.

This post was co-authored by Jonathan Zureo, Loretta Dilu, and Hafford Norea.

Internet affordability in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is generally considered poor. A discussion paper published in 2016, a working paper published in 2018, a policy brief issued in 2020, and a 2022 report all suggested that Internet pricing in PNG was not affordable during the last decade when compared to other economies in the Pacific Islands region.

Mobile Internet prices stagnated for much of 2024 in PNG. All three mobile network operators kept their data bundle pricing consistent throughout 2024, with only minor changes to some offerings.

This project has been monitoring prices since the start of 2020. For the most part, prices did not change from 2020 to 2022. Amalgamated Telecom Holdings, trading as Vodafone, entered the PNG market in April 2022. After the entry of Vodafone, Digicel and Telikom prices improved in terms of value. Nonetheless, there were few changes to prices between 1 January 2024 and 11 November 2024 (the last date included in this blog post).

As can be seen in Figure 1, Vodafone data prices have mostly been consistent since they commenced operations in 2022. Vodafone customers who can afford to purchase a long-lasting data bundle achieve better value, in terms of toea per megabyte, compared to those who purchase data bundles with shorter durations. Initially, Vodafone did not offer a 3-day bundle. Since a 3-day option was introduced, it has slightly decreased in value. The 30-day bundle has improved in value. Prices remained constant throughout 2024.

In order to be competitive and appealing to its customers, Vodafone has been actively running data promotions, which are becoming popular. Every Thursday to Saturday, any purchase is doubled. For example, if a customer purchases the most accessible 1-day data bundle, which costs three kina for one gigabyte, their data will be doubled, giving them two gigabytes. In addition, on Sundays, there is a 'Supa Sunday' promotion where two gigabytes of data costs two kina. Vodafone's Christmas promotion tripled data purchases. For instance, the most accessible 7-day bundle costs ten kina, which ordinarily buys five gigabytes, but the Christmas promotion meant that it bought fifteen gigabytes. Temporary promotions and prize draws are not reflected in Figure 1.

Internet prices offered by Digicel remained largely unchanged during 2020. As shown in Figure 2, towards the end of that year, the value of the most accessible 1-day option improved and the value of the most accessible 30-day option decreased slightly. The other price options monitored remained flat and unchanged from early 2020 to mid-2023. After the market entry of Vodafone, Digicel prices improved in terms of value. Throughout 2024, the value of the mobile Internet data bundles offered by Digicel was better than in previous years. In April 2024, Digicel ceased to offer 3-day bundles and reduced the number of offerings of other durations. Figure 2 shows that the value of 1-day, 7-day and 30-day plans improved in April 2024. For the 1-day and 30-day plans, this change required customers to increase their initial outlay.

Since it began operations in PNG in 2007, Digicel has been offering promotions to its customers. Soon after Vodafone launched its Christmas promotion in early November 2024, Digicel began festive season promotions targeting smartphone purchases. For instance, a new smartphone worth K 499 had to be purchased in order to be eligible for specific Internet data bundles and call minutes. As with Vodafone, temporary promotions and prizes are not captured in Figure 2.

Telikom prices have been monitored since the beginning of 2020. Prices were consistent from the start of 2020 to April 2022. In one weekly reading as Vodafone was commencing operations, Telikom prices improved across a number of offerings in terms of value. As can be seen in Figure 3, bundle values then returned to their previous settings for four months before various changes started to occur. Overall, the value of Telikom's mobile Internet bundles was better throughout 2024 than in previous years. During 2024, data bundle values generally remained consistent, with the most accessible 3-day and 30-day bundles improving in terms of value. As with the other companies, Telikom offers temporary promotions such as Christmas promotions but these are not shown in Figure 3.

Subsequent to Vodafone's entry to the PNG market, other mobile network operators decreased their prices. In 2024, pricing stagnated. It may not yet be at an affordable level for all citizens. High-end pricing (that is, the 30-day option) offers the best value and favours those who can afford such an outlay, while low-end pricing (that is, 1-day or 3-day options) does not represent the same value for money.

In the Pacific region, people are starting to use Starlink terminals for Internet access for houses, businesses and communities. Starlink was given a licence in PNG in January 2024. Meanwhile, Kacific is continuing to establish ground stations for its satellite services. Mobile network operators are also using satellite connections to support their deployments. It will be interesting to see whether increases in access to Internet services via satellites appear to have any influence on mobile Internet prices in the future.

For now, prices offered by mobile network operators have settled. Price stability offers certainty for consumers, allowing them to budget and plan their mobile data usage. Even so, some customers in PNG may like to see improvements in terms of value for money. We will continue to monitor pricing arrangements and report on trends.

Data note 1: Explanation of a weekly data collection method that has been employed since the beginning of 2020 is provided here. All previous updates are available here.

Data note 2: This research monitors the mobile Internet prices offered by mobile network operators. It is valuable as it has collected pricing information for almost five years and is likely to continue for some years yet. Nonetheless, the project has limitations. It captures the prices offered to mobile Internet users but does not monitor the prices offered by other Internet Service Providers in PNG. This research does not monitor 'combo' services, such as offerings that include data, calls and text messages. The project does not monitor the night plans that are offered. The research commenced in January 2020 and therefore there is no data available from before 2020 using a reliable weekly monitoring method. Due to unavoidable circumstances, there were some weeks missed and these appear as gaps in the data presented in graphs.

Amanda H A Watson is a researcher with the Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.

Jonathan Zureo is a Lecturer at the Divine Word University, Papua New Guinea. He teaches data communications and cybersecurity in the Information Systems Department and the Mathematics and Computing Science Department. His research interests lie in the cybersecurity domain of PNG and the Pacific.

Loretta Dilu is a tutor in the Strategic Management Division of the School of Business & Public Policy, University of Papua New Guinea.

Hafford Norea is a Research Officer with the Education Research Program at the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute. He previously worked with the PNG Public Employees Association from 2020 to 2023.

Originally posted at Devpolicy blog.

The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.

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