Remote PNG highlands farmers get access to high speed internet

Villages in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea are bucking the global trend of increased isolation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The village of Kukpa in mountainous Jiwaka province is now participating directly in global commerce thanks largely to direct high-speed internet, via satellite.

Kukpa's story began with Vani Nades and Emma Wakpi who went to school and then university together.

Their common interest in rural remote development meant they kept in touch as their professional paths diverged.

Vani Nades launched the ISP start-up Emstret which is disrupting the local internet market by offering cheap satellite broadband anywhere in PNG.

"We are very competitive because our aim is to bring the internet price down and affordability is something that our locals needed in a fast reliable internet service. It's different to what our competitors are providing.

"We're a small player but we're making a huge impact," she quipped.

4G terrestrial internet to remote areas in PNG's rough mountainous terrain is limited by the expense of installation according to Ms Nades. However, Emstret uses satellite coverage provided by the Kacific network which reaches the entire country and most other Pacific nations.

With Very-Small-Aperture Terminal (VSAT) antennas provided by Emstret, she said, any remote community can have high-speed satellite internet.

"We provide all the equipment and they set it up, as long as they have power. Because the main challenge going rural is that power is an issue. We always look at win-win situations and we're providing solar-powered wifi systems."

In remote Kukpa village, Emma Wakpi has established Jiwaka Coffee Limited where she aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of up to 7000 households.

She's doing this by processing coffee beans in a speciality 'honey style' with the aid of an innovative coffee mill which uses no water and creates no waste. It was secured with the help of her Canadian agent Tim Bieber from Amamas Coffee who was there to deliver and set it up. Bieber is also helping Jiwaka Coffee deal directly with customers across Canada so more profits flow back to Jiwaka.

Ms Wakpi said Emstret's satellite internet has made continued contact possible.

"When I'm doing Zoom meetings, I've got people that I'm talking with in Hong Kong, in Canada, the US, Australia, because I am communicating daily PNG wide as well as overseas," she said.

"And just to have consistent reliable internet makes a world of difference."

She catches up daily with her agents in Hong Kong and Canada. They offer mentoring and insights for Jiwaka coffee growers into what is happening in the world of coffee.

In the era of Covid-19, she said, they can't visit like they used to and demonstrate new procedures and techniques.

"So we just get on video calls, we get on phone calls and they instruct us step-by-step the processes that we should be doing. And then I take pictures, videos and send them back to him and he's looking at it saying 'Okay, this is good, this is the colour. Watch out for these types of smells.' Then we take samples and send it off."

Once her Hong Kong mentor, the chief executive of Bolaven Farms Sam Say, has received the speciality bean samples he then makes coffee from them to ensure they have reached the desired flavour. He and Ms Wakpi then compare tasting notes via internet calls and videos on WhatsApp and make any changes necessary.

The organic fair trade farming distributor and businessman said, beyond coffee, Emma Wakpi is opening internet access to local students.

"To do research online, to write papers and to learn new things. So with what Emma is doing with this internet is that a nominal fee is charged but with no time limit on the use of the data so that the young people can actually come, use it, do research."

Mr Say said, as a social enterprise, Jiwaka Coffee Limited helps fund the development of Kukpa village and surrounding areas. The company provides training to people in the area in how to access the internet with smartphones for essential services like banking which otherwise would take a day by car to visit the closest branch.

Satellite internet into the Highlands, said Mr Say, has really opened it to services beyond the immediate area and is something all developing nations should be embracing.