Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said previous governments had failed to address the issue and invest in the failing state of the important entity.

Addressing Parliament, O'Neill said the government had intervened to improve its equipment and management and had approved K200 million to upgrade ageing Telikom infrastructure.

He told Parliament its competitor Digicel was rolling out faster and cheaper services and might take over the industry in the country, The National newspaper reported.

O'Neill said new management was in place to provide improved services and competitiveness.

"It is regrettable that the past governments have not invested in the company, leading to the ageing infrastructure and poor services throughout the country," he said.

Manus MP Ronnie Knight had questioned why Telikom was charging a fee of K1500 a month for Vsat handset user fees in remote districts after the government had given K30 million for the rollout.