A Papua New Guinea member of parliament says the country's rural communities are in great need of shortwave and medium wave radio services.
The Bulolo MP, Sam Basil, said with the facilities of the national broadcaster, NBC, having been left to deteriorate, it has cut off the only means of communication for people in PNG's many remote areas.
He said the commercialisation of FM frequencies was based on urban areas and didn't penetrate into PNG's many remote, rural communities.
Mr Basil said this was apparent in various rural parts he recently visited across the country.
"One thing that I found out from the people there is that since the decommissioning of the shortwave 1, shortwave 2 and then medium wave frequencies from the NBC some twenty years ago, nobody in those rural areas is tuning into what's happening in Port Moresby," said Mr Basil.
"Even some areas that I go to, they don't even know who the current prime minister is."
