Papua New Guinea’s NICTA ready to issue 5G spectrum licences

Details: John Tanner; Category: Regulation; 08 September 2026; 361 views

Papua New Guinea’s telecoms regulator announced on Friday that it’s ready to issue 5G spectrum licences in the 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands to "qualified" mobile operators.

According to a statement posted on the government’s Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) said it has completed its legal, technical and regulatory work for the 5G licensing framework, after several years of spectrum planning, market assessments, industry consultations and reviews of international practice.

NICTA said the licensing framework includes rollout requirements to ensure that the benefits of the new spectrum extend beyond major urban centres, where 5G is likely to be deployed first.

Meanwhile – as the 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands are approved for both 4G and 5G usage – the licences will require telcos to extend 4G coverage to 20 new sites identified under the Universal Access and Service Program.

NICTA said that Vodafone PNG is already committed to rolling out 5G across the National Capital District and at least one additional city within 18 months. Its rollout targets include reaching at least 20% of PNG’s population within 36 months and 30% within 60 months.

In July, Digicel PNG announced it has completed end-to-end 5G readiness testing on its network, with the results validating its network’s capability to deliver 5G connectivity.

The next step will be for licenced operators to plan and deploy their 5G networks while NICTA oversees compliance with the conditions attached to the spectrum licences.

NICTA also noted that its 5G licencing framework is part of wider ongoing spectrum reforms. Future work will include additional high-demand spectrum, satellite and non-terrestrial network (NTN) services, as well as more opportunities for licence-exempt and Wi-Fi services.