Technology and communications specialist TE (PNG) Limited has achieved a national first, receiving Papua New Guinea’s inaugural approval from the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) to trial a fixed land OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service in Port Moresby. Live testing has now commenced, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of enterprise-grade connectivity across the country.
The approval enables TE PNG to conduct the first fully compliant, in-country OneWeb trial, positioning the company at the forefront of next-generation satellite communications in PNG. The trial is being delivered in partnership with Sat.One, with whom TE PNG has been working since 2022 to introduce OneWeb capabilities to the local market.
Built for Enterprise, Not “Best Effort”
OneWeb operates a global low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation engineered specifically for enterprise and government applications. Unlike consumer-focused LEO services, OneWeb delivers a managed, commercial-grade platform with defined performance profiles, traffic management, and the ability to design resilient, end-to-end enterprise architectures.
Compared to traditional geostationary (GEO) satellite services, OneWeb offers dramatically lower latency and higher responsiveness. More importantly for mission-critical operations, it provides predictability, control, and long-term supportability—attributes essential for sectors such as mining, maritime, aviation, utilities, government, and critical infrastructure, where connectivity reliability is non-negotiable.
Expanding Connectivity Options Across PNG
With NICTA approval now in place, TE PNG is able to design, deploy, and support a broad range of OneWeb solutions nationwide, including:
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Fixed land OneWeb services for offices, sites, and facilities across Papua New Guinea
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Mobile land solutions for vehicles and remote operations
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Maritime OneWeb services for vessels operating within PNG waters
All services will be installed, monitored, and maintained locally by TE PNG as a licensed PNG provider, ensuring compliance, technical accountability, and on-the-ground support.
Industry Collaboration Years in the Making
TE PNG Managing Director Robbie Huxley described the milestone as the culmination of several years of groundwork and collaboration.
“I’ve been working with Sat.One to bring OneWeb services to Papua New Guinea since 2022. It’s incredibly rewarding to now be conducting the first fully fledged, fully approved OneWeb test in-country with the OneWeb team,” Huxley said.
He acknowledged the early foundations laid through previous satellite deployments, including the country’s first use of Kymeta flat-panel antennas for maritime and land-mobile applications using GEO connectivity.
“Daniel Fairbairn and I first met in 2022 to discuss what this could become. That early work laid much of the foundation for what we are doing today,” he said.
More Tools for Better Solutions
Huxley emphasised that OneWeb is not positioned as a replacement for existing services, but as another critical tool in a rapidly diversifying connectivity landscape.
“No single service is a one-size-fits-all answer. OneWeb, like Starlink, Amazon LEO, Intelsat, Digicel, Vodafone, and countless other technologies, simply gives us more options. More options mean we can design the right solution for each customer, rather than forcing every problem into the same box.”
A Step Forward for PNG’s Digital Resilience
The OneWeb trial represents a major step forward for resilient, high-performance connectivity in Papua New Guinea, particularly for organisations operating in remote, mobile, or high-risk environments.
“This is just the beginning,” Huxley said. “The satellite and connectivity landscape is changing rapidly, and we are proud to be part of that change—bringing new technologies and capabilities to PNG so our customers can operate, grow, and connect with confidence.”
As testing progresses in Port Moresby, the trial is expected to inform broader enterprise deployments, reinforcing PNG’s readiness to adopt advanced satellite technologies that support economic growth, national infrastructure, and digital transformation.
