A Cook Islands telecommunications company says it has taken heart in comments from the Asian Development Bank promoting competition.
The Bank's director of urban, social development and public management, Andrea Iffland, has supported Orama Limited's bid for a licence.
The owner, William Framhein, says the application has been with Minister of Finance Mark Brown for almost a year.
Ms Iffland says the application is an opportunity to expand telecommunications services while reducing cost.
She says she questions why other licences had not been granted in a market solely dominated by Bluesky Samoa, and that competition and deregulation are the way to go.
Orama was the unsuccessful bidder for Spark New Zealand's 60 per cent shareholding in Telecom Cook Islands, which was purchased by Bluesky Samoa.
The company then asked the government for a licence for radio apparatus which would enable them to provide a mobile phone service, data and a wireless internet service.
