Multi national mobile phone operator, Digicell, says it has launched Papua New Guinea's first solar charging station for mobile phone users.
The project, completed with help from the New Zealand aid programme and the World Bank, aims to improve connectivity for people in isolated parts of the country.
The first station has been installed at Hula, a village two hours from Port Moresby, with other trials underway around the country.
The company says successful trials could lead to more than 500 stations scattered across rural areas by 2015, allowing another 500,000 people to connect with family and friends, and to do business.
Digicell's chief operating officer, Darren Mclean, says the stations can simultaneously charge up to 20 phones.
A New Zealand High Commission spokesman, Robert Turare, says the solar stations are important infrastructure that will transform communities and improve lives.
