Games continue with telecoms liberalisation

Feb 27, 2019 News

The move by Government to open up the telecoms sector appears to have stalled.
Since coming into Government in 2015, the issue was high on the agenda of the Coalition Government to end the 28-year landline and international calls monopoly held by the US-owned Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).
It entailed talks between the Government and the company about taxes, concessions and other issues.
The ending of the monopoly would have meant that new players, offering high-speed internet, mobile and data services and even internet TV services, would have been allowed to compete with GTT.

GTT’s CEO, Justin Nedd

Currently, only Irish-owned Digicel is here and it is limited to mobile services.
Yesterday, again GTT was asked about the liberalisation process.
Chief Executive Officer, Justin Nedd, would only say that everything is progressing with “talks” continuing.
“We are certainly committed in moving on with liberalisation. We’re talking and pushing to get it done.”
His answer would raise questions about what exactly is happening in the sector.
There have been growing complaints about the sloth of GTT rolling out services, especially landlines and fibre for data services. The quality of data services and absence of such from many parts of the country have been a major complaint.
The story has been same from Government officials…things are happening.
It was promised mid-last year. Then the timeline for liberalisation was shifted to yearend.
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes said in January that a joint statement between Government and GTT would be forthcoming shortly. There has been secrecy over what has been described as negotiations.
GTT is said to owe millions in taxes to the Guyana Revenue Authority.

Minister Cathy Hughes

Seven years ago, in April 2012, the Donald Ramotar-led administration approved plans to sell its lucrative stakes in GTT.
The 20 percent shares were sold in a US$30M deal to a Hong Kong-registered company.
There is a US$5M still being owed, with the Coalition Government contemplating approaching a court in the United Kingdom to collect it.
The wheels for the so-called liberalisation were set in motion, then, for the Government of the day to start opening up the telecoms sector to allow new players to compete in the lucrative mobile and data market.
However, over those seven years, key legislation to open the industry lingered with lawmakers before being passed over two years ago.
Before the US-owned company gives up that monopoly, it wants some concessions, including bandwidth and reportedly tax breaks.
Digicel, which is GTT’s competitor in the mobile market, has been piling on the pressure for the sector to be open. Digicel wants to land its own submarine data cable.
The two companies have long been at it in a high stakes game involving billions of dollars in business, in a market that is growing.

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