Communication Cost Is a Grave Concern: PAC Report

BY ALEX DADAMU

THE charges of data, voice, and SMS by Solomon Telekom and Bmobile/Vodafone are very expensive for users and the network speed and connectivity are very unreliable.

This was highlighted by the recently released Public Accounts Committee report on the 2021 Appropriation Bill 2021 this week.

The PAC report stated that the undersea cable is supposed to resolve these issues but this is no longer the case.

However, in response, the ministry responsible, the Ministry of Communication and Aviation stated that some of the equipment and transmitters deployed by the service providers are old and require upgrading to accommodate the volume of transmission from the cable.

“Solomon Telekom has a program to upgrade its facilities to resolve these issues.

“The ministry encourages customers to raise their complaints with the regulator as they have the right to raise issues of concern with the Telecommunications Commission of Solomon Islands (TCSI).

The Ministry of Communication also updated PAC regarding the status of the 200 network towers propose to be built in the country.

The Ministry confirmed that the project is in the design stage and the proposal was submitted to donors for consideration but was delayed due to the pandemic.

In the meantime, in its recommendation, PAC urged the Government to review the Telecommunications Act to further strengthen competition, improve quality, and reduce the cost of Telecommunication services.