The Rural Communications Project in Papua New Guinea aims to facilitateimproved access to affordable and reliable telecommunications in ruraland remote areas. Launched in 2009, the project seeks to providebroadband internet access in rural district centers. In 2009, only 20 percent of Papua New Guineans had access to cellularcoverage, with a majority of the 80 percent that live in rural areashaving no access of any kind. High prices and. The Rural Communications Project was envisaged to provide Internetconnectivity for rural and remote areas. Financed by the World Bank andmanaged by the National ICT. Challenging terrain -Access levels in Papua New Guinea are among thelowest in the world, with fixed broadband penetration still below 1percent and overall Internet penetration. The World Bank has invested a total of US$ 15 million in this projectsince 2009. Combined with existing investments by mobile operators, theproject is expected to boost total population coverage to over 90percent by the end of 2015. The benefits of rural connectivity.