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PUC welcomes SMS interconnection

May 20, 2009 News

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has welcomed the signing of the interconnection of SMS between the country’s two mobile networks. The interconnection of SMS has been long overdue and expects that this would contribute to the further growth of the sector, and benefits for all consumers, the PUC stated.
The Commission said that its public hearing which was scheduled for Friday on the issue of Short Messaging Service (SMS) interconnection between the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Ltd and U–Mobile (Cellular) Inc, trading as Digicel, has been discontinued in terms of a notice filed by the applicant Digicel.
The PUC, in a press statement, said that by way of complaint dated April 3, 2009 Digicel approached the Commission requesting that the Public Utilities Commission require GT&T to enable interconnection of the SMS services so that all subscribers will be able to send short messaging texts between the networks.
They stated that the two companies had tested the service and verified that it could work as early as April 14, 2008. They indicated in their application that they had made numerous efforts to enable the already tested service and that all those requests were ignored by GT&T.
They further argued that GT&T was delaying the launch of the service since November 2008 and was of the view that GT&T had decided that it was not in its commercial interest to enable interconnection and that the company did not intend to cooperate.
The PUC said the complaint was forwarded to GT&T who advised that the central cause of the disagreement between the parties was Digicel’s desire for GT&T to engage in a comprehensive renegotiation of the Interconnection Agreement at a time when Government is accelerating its sector review efforts.
The Commission noted that GT&T seemed reluctant for the matter to be heard before the Commission and requested that the issue be deferred until after completion of the sector reform legislation and the negotiations between the Government and ATN/GT&T to amend GT&T’s operating licence.
The Commission said it was of the view that given the alleged protracted negotiations on the SMS Interconnection Agreement and the implications it had to the public at large, that the matter be placed in the public domain and a date was fixed for a Public Hearing.
Efforts were made by GT&T to have the matter adjourned and not proceeded with on the date fixed by the Commission, but the parties suddenly met on May 15, 2009 and signed an Interconnection Agreement to take effect on June 1, 2009.
By letter to the PUC on the said day, Digicel formally withdrew their complaint, stating that the parties have agreed to facilitate cross network texting commencing on June 1, 2009.

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