Telikom has expanded its partnership with Kacific Broadband Satellites Group in a move that will boost Papua New Guinea's network reach.

This latest upgrade to the strategic partnership will enable mobile operator Telikom to provide greater connectivity to some of the island's more remote areas.

It builds on the partnership that was signed mid-way through last year and will provide greater capacity to connect residential and business customers, and further back up its fiber network, Kacific said.

The need for satellite broadband connectivity is critical to Papua New Guinea, which is susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes which cause telecoms infrastructure damage.

Papua New Guinea was rocked by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale in September, causing widespread damage to its grid which led to severe outages.

The growing partnership will also see Telikom utilize the efficiency and flexibility of Ka-band satellite technology to the fiber system in Lae, the country's second-largest city. Telikom currently has 150 mobile sites across the country.

As part of this, the installation and commissioning of a 4.5-meter satellite dish for the fiber backup service have just been completed.

"With the affordable, high-speed satellite service Kacific provides, Telikom Limited can grow its customer base, and in doing so, advance social and economic development," said Telekom head of sales and marketing Nathaniel Lepani.

“This strategic partnership lets us leverage the breadth and depth of Kacific’s satellite services, which are ideally suited to meet current and future connectivity demands of PNG."