Thursday, October 1st, 2026
US Embassy Hosts Discussions on Internet Costs, AI and Online SafetyThe cost of internet, artificial intelligence, online safety and the growing use of digital services in Papua New Guinea were discussed at a forum in Port Moresby on Wednesday the 30th of September 2026.
The U.S Embassy hosted “Digital Transformation at the Ground Level” at Hilton Port Moresby, bringing together journalists, content creators, students, small business owners, advocates and people working in technology.
Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Steven Matainaho spoke about the Government’s work to improve internet access and move more government services online.
He said wholesale connectivity costs had dropped by about 90 to 95 per cent over the past five years.
“The number of registered SIM cards has also increased from about three million to 6.5 million, with about four million estimated to be active,” he stated.
Secretary Matainaho also stated that Vodafone has entered the market, while work is also being done on mobile number portability, national roaming and tower sharing.
He said more than 170 government agencies now have the domain .gov.pg
“Government agencies are also moving to official Microsoft 365 and Outlook email accounts.
Standardized websites are being introduced for provincial governments, public health authorities, and other government bodies.
Secretary Matainaho also spoke about SevisWallet and SevisPass, the Government’s digital ID service.
He said people could use SevisPass to open a MiBank account from home, with work underway to connect other banks and services.
SIM card registration is also planned to be linked to digital ID to reduce the fraudulent use of SIM cards in scams.
Cybersecurity and the handling of personal information were also discussed.
Mr Matainaho said new laws were being worked on to require organizations to report cyber incidents and introduce penalties for failing to report breaches involving personal data.
“In industry, when there’s a breach of data, there’s no penalties right now. I’m talking about personal data,” he said.
Artificial intelligence was another topic during the forum.
University of Papua New Guinea Vice Chancellor Professor Ian Finlay said people needed a basic understanding of AI and digital technology before moving into areas such as programming, software engineering and cybersecurity.
“AI should be a tool. We are the masters of that tool,” Professor Finlay said.
He also spoke about UPNG’s plans for an innovation hub to help young people develop their ideas, including guidance in business, patents and trademarks.
UPNG final-year Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science student Belden Sakiromo spoke about his web-based criminal record management system prototype, Bighet Rekod, also known as Bikhet Rekot or the Digital Station, National Online Dockets Management System.
Sakiromo said students needed places where they could test their projects, receive feedback and make changes before taking their ideas further.
Content creators, advocates and influencers including Patronella Gawi, Emmanuel Tipi and Math Allen also took part in a panel on the use of social media in PNG.
They spoke about the need to share information that is true and checked, and to avoid spreading false or misleading information online.
The forum also covered software security, with speakers discussing the need to check systems before they are put into use and to ask technology suppliers questions about security.
The discussions brought together people from government, universities, media, business and the technology sector to talk about the changes taking place as more Papua New Guineans use digital services.
