The Internet consists of thousands of Autonomous Systems (ASes) networks that are each owned and operated by a single
institution. Usually each ISP operates one AS, though some ISPs may
operate multiple ASes for business reasons. As is the case now with
DataCo. The visual below shows you the interconnections between ASes
within PNG, and compares the state of interconnections between the IPv4
and IPv6 address families. Notice there
is ZERO interconnection for IPv6 to DataCo, only IPv4. (Writing an
article on this very soon.)
From this visualization, you can
also see which networks play an important connectivity role within our
economy. Notice how the numbers (ASes) outside connect to the two ASes
inside (17828, 136587) which belong to DataCo.
Over the last 5
years the number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs has grown in the country and
should continue to grow with the PPC1 and CS cable pricing review
(presumably lower pricing) and better arrangements through PNG IXP for
ISPs and CDNs. I strongly believe that when this comes about it will
bring new and real opportunities for economic development in the
country. Research by the ITU has also shown that for every 10% increase
in broadband penetration, GDP growth can be boosted by 1.21% to 1.38%.
(Image source: https://stats.apnic.net/vizas/#)
