A mobile phone company in Papua New Guinea says mobiles could help combat illiteracy in children.
Pacific Mobile Communications, a subsidary of Telikom PNG, opened for business in May last year.
The company invested 156-thousand US dollars to launch a new mobile phone service in Wewak, East Sepik Province.
The acting director for PMC, Noel Mobiha, says they now have 37-thousand subscribers, and 15 percent of those are kids.
"The handset itself requires some sort of school, some education to be able to appreciate the handset and be able to use it. Because voice calls itself is expensive, the use of sms is the one that's really going to drive the market over here and force kids to learn abc, 123, and hence literacy."
Noel Mobiha says they are hoping extend the mobile phone service to Rabaul in East New Britain, by the end of the year.
