PTC Telekom awards contracts

CONTRACTS valued at more than Kl 2 million were awarded to various companies to undertake telecommunica tions projects throughout Papua New Guinea this year.

Announcing this recently, Minister for Information and Communications Mar tin Thompson said the biggest contract for K 3.5 million was awarded to Scien tific Atlanta for the conversion of Dom estic Satellite from the Palapa satellite to Intelsat satellite. Thompson said the PTC Palapa agreement signed three years ago would expire in December this year, and work on this project would commence immediately to allow for the actual transfer to take effect in October.

The minister said PTC would retain a quarter transponder on the Palapa satellite until 1995 to facilitate telephone services for communications on the PNG/ Indonesia border as well as services to

Bougainville Island. Thompson added

that a semi turnkey contract for K 2.8 million was awarded to Alcatel Australia for provision of a Digital Data Network (DDN) linking the whole country. The minister said the semi-turnkey project was to allow PTC engineers to work with Alcatel engineers to gain experience.

Thompson said this network, when completed at the end of the year, would provide high speed data facilities for organisations such as banks, mining companies and others who use these services. The minister said other value added services following these services would be voice mail, point of sale transfer and low-speed video conferenc ing.

Thompson said another contract for K 2.1 million had also been awarded to Sprint International of Australia for the supply, delivery, installation and com missioning of a Packet Switch for the Digital Data Network, The minister said under the contract Sprint would provide three nodes at the Boroko, Lae and Mt Hagen Exchanges. He said work on this contract had already started at the Boroko exchange.

“The growth in international traffic in Port Moresby has resulted in the award ing of contract for K 1.5 million to L M Ericsson on a turnkey basis for the installation, and commissioning of a second international telephone exchange at Boroko and the upgrading of the existing international telephone exchange at Lae,” the minister said.

Thompson added that as part of its modernisation programme, PTC awarded a contract for K 1.4 million to Nippon Electric Company (NEC) for the digitalisation of the remaining analogus bearers between Port Moresby and Mt

Gaden. The minister said the digital radio equipment is required to convert the remaining analogue radio links between Boroko-Lae, Lae-Goroka and Goroka-Mt Hagen into digital radio links to provide more digital capacity on t e nearly congested link between Boroko and Lae.

The minister said as a result of PTC’s capital investment programme on rural

telephone services, a three-year contract for K 1.3 million had been awarded to Paterson Simons & Company (PNG) Pty Ltd in partnership with Japan Radio Corporation for the supply, and delivery on ly of Rural Subscriber systemms (radio) equipment. Thompson added that this equipment was needed for PTC’s rural telecommunications pro gramme. □

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