Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Suriname launches fiber optic cable
– new collaborative initiatives being examined
More than two weeks after Guyana officially launched its fibre optic cable, its partner in the venture, Suriname, on Monday, also commissioned its service and local officials are saying that several new collaborative initiatives, including roaming features, are being examined.
Speaking about the Suriname launch, which saw a high-level team from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) attending the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer, Yog Mahadeo, yesterday noted that the US$60M project between the two neighbours, definitely represents a new era in the region.
GT&T officials at Suriname’s launching of its submarine fibre optic cable.
The occasion, also graced with the presence of newly sworn-in Vice President, Robert Ameerali, and GT&T’s partnering telecommunications company, TeleSur, also saw an announcement of a decision to not tax computers and other related equipment entering that country.
According to Wystan Robertson, Marketing Manager of GT&T, the advent of the Suriname/Guyana Submarine Cable System (SGSCS) bodes well for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development of the two countries, and CARICOM as a whole.
On July 29, GT&T had its official launching ceremony for the cable at the International Convention Centre, Liliendaal, where President Bharrat Jagdeo announced a government project to outfit some 90,000 poor families with laptops in a three-year project.
Since the introduction of the cable, which is supposed to introduce more bandwidth to Guyana and improve internet browsing speed, GT&T has disclosed that it is working with several partners to introduce cheaper computers and other services, including call centres and banking initiatives.
Already, GT&T has seen new internet subscribers moving from 150 applications in June to 1000 last month.
According to Mahadeo, the E-magine initiative, which is the host of services that comes with the cable, is up and running and while GT&T is on full steam, there are still challenges like damaged telephone lines which may affect quality. This will not readily change overnight but “we are trying our best,” the official said.
Already, to deal with the volumes of calls, GT&T has upgraded its call centres by an additional 12 workers.
The CEO, while not satisfied with the pace of work to fully get Guyana connected, stressed that there are a number of factors that have to be taken into account and these are all being tackled systematically. Initially, Georgetown to Beterverwagting has been targeted for upgrades. This exercise is still ongoing.
One of the major projects underway is the establishment of a Trade Point at the Guyana Office for Invesment (GoInvest) which will be allowing locals to link-up and talk to overseas businesses.
In addition, in terms of collaboration with Suriname, talks are underway to link up the thousands of Guyanese who live and do business with that neighboring country with Guyana using roaming services. In essence, Guyanese and Surinamese, using GT&T and Telesur services can visit the other country and make calls and go online, under new features to be introduces, Mahadeo disclosed. During the Guyana launch in July, Dirk Currie, CEO of TeleSur, had noted that the collaboration is a new area in telecommunication for the region.
Acknowledging the spin-offs, the CEO said that not only the high speed internet is now available, but data, video and increased bandwidth are all tremendous benefits.
While, GT&T had plugged US$30M to bring the cable, additional features to fully optimize the potential of the cable will see another US$20M-US$30M being expended.
The cable deal was signed in December 2008.
GT&T had announced that it moved into a “partnership mode” with several businesses in which the company would ensure improved internet connections and then work with businesses to provide computers and other equipment.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Fingerprinting and Finger-Pointing
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- No one, not even the staunchest supporters of Guyana’s electoral process, would claim... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
