Prorogued Parliament leaves Telecommunications Bill in Limbo

Nov 13, 2014 News

Stakeholders nervous about making new investments-Dean

By Gary Eleazar
Guyanese will not benefit in any way as it relates to the telecommunications sector as none of the players will be

Digicel’s CEO,
Gregory Dean

looking to make any substantial investment as a result of the prorogued Parliament.
This is the case since the work of the Parliamentary Select Committee which was tasked with addressing the Telecommunications Bill has now been put on an indefinite pause.
Speaking with this publication briefly yesterday, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Guyana, Gregory Dean, lamented the decision of the President to prorogue Parliament since the liberalization of the sector has also been postponed.
Guyanese, he said would not be able to benefit from any new services that would come about as a result of a liberalized telecommunications sector.
Liberalization, according to Dean, is long overdue and the President has effectively called to a halt the work of that Select Committee.
According to Dean, all of the players in the industry would be nervous about making new investments to provide a better or expanded service to Guyanese given the climate of uncertainty in relation to the Telecommunications Bill.
Dean is on record saying that while his company is ready to make major investments in Guyana, the non passage of the Telecommunication Bill continues to hamper business.
He had described the “non-passage” of the Bill as a bigger issue for the country.
Dean told Kaieteur News that it’s no secret that Digicel wants to invest and become a full service communications player, not only in terms of expanding the current services they offer on mobile phones but to also upgrade the present service.
“We would also like to get into the landline and internet businesses, plus we’d like to run our own fiber optic cables too since we are looking to further our business here in Guyana,” Dean recently told this publication.
Since its entry into the Guyana market in 2007, Digicel has sunk US$70M in network and data services.
Meanwhile as it relates to the work already done at the level of the Committee, Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, is optimistic that all is not lost.
According to Isaacs, whenever the Parliament is reconvened, there is the possibility that a motion can be laid in the House, requesting that the work already completed by the Committee be adopted.
Upon enactment of the Law, not only will the monopoly be broken, but licences will automatically be handed out to additional telecommunications companies namely – E-Networks, Quark Communications Inc and Nexlink Communications Inc.
The Bill has been engaging the Special Parliamentary Select Committee for over a year now and has benefitted from several stakeholders including Digicel and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company.