Parliamentary

micevan1l6

– urges regulation enforcement in liberalized marketAs local telecoms companies ready for an open market, with new liberalization laws expected, there is good news for customers.Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), which currently holds the monopoly on landlines, has unveiled major plans to upgrade its systems that will see internet speeds increasing tenfold. It may even cost subscribers less and it is expected that the initiative will be rolled out in almost all the communities that are connected via landline by yearend.However, it is not likely that mobile phones customers, who depend on that for their primary source of internet, will benefit soon. This is because very little headway has been made in the talks with Government for more spectrum. The airwaves component is critical for the introduction of new services like the fourth generation (4G) network which works with smartphones.GT&T’s CEO, Radha Krishna SharmaIt will mean that customers could see up to 10 megabytes being delivered for the same $10,000. Currently customers are getting around one megabyte.The disclosures of the expansion were made Saturday evening by GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer, Radha Krishna Sharma (RK Sharma) during the entity’s annual dinner for media workers at Grand Coastal Hotel, East Coast Demerara.An enthusiastic Sharma said that broadband infrastructure development has the penetrative and transformative effect in creating a truly e-society with concentration in the economic sectors encompassing trade and commerce.“The socio-economic benefits for a developing economy will be far reaching. And this is where I wish to make a commitment this evening to our customers that shortly we will be embarking in a phased manner to bring faster broadband speed and that too at a lower price to all ,” he said in his announcement.“We believe in providing the best value for customers and we always endeavor to ensure our value thrust is maintained at its pinnacle. Thus, you heard me right. We will be offering higher speed for less cost to the customers.”Faster, FasterThe executive said that data customers will not be able to experience this service from any other provider in Guyana. “We will simply be the number one choice. GT&T customers will soon begin to enjoy faster speeds and an enhanced broadband experience. In some cases we will be offering as much as ten times the existing bandwidth speeds.”The announcement came at a time when GT&T’s nearest competitor, Digicel, is reportedly bringing in its own fiber optic cable. A number of other companies are standing by to enter the market but GT&T with its landline infrastructure will have the edge.IN 2010, GT&T commissioned a fibre optic cable in partnership with Suriname, investing US$30M. The cable has the capacity of servicing Guyana tenfold.Sharma argued that the company, 80 percent of which is controlled by US’ Atlantic Tele Network (ATC), has been instrumental in the growth of a number of sectors.Media workers at Saturday’s dinner hosted by GT&T during which the company unveiled major expansion plans 2015“Our investment in telecommunications has led to the development of a number of sectors that depend heavily on ICTs to remain competitive. We have seen economic activities catapult with the introduction of broadband services provided by GT&T’s fibre optic cable. The emergence of a number of call centres and other IT-dependent businesses continue to create significant employment for the youths who themselves have become very tech savvy and innovative. ”He said that it is clear that both the Government and private sector have seen the benefits of Information and Communications Technology (ICTs), initiated by GT&T broadband services.“2015 will be a transformative year for GT&T together with our customers. It is not the year where we take small steps forward but rather giant leaps forward. In essence, we wish to emphasise that our commitment to broadband in Guyana has never been stronger, our commitment to our customers has never been stronger. And this will be evidenced as we begin the rollout of our enhanced broadband offerings in a short while.”Sharma admitted that it will not be possible to take the enhanced speed to every area at the same time.  “While we cannot take this enhanced service to every community at the same time, before the end of the year, every qualifying community will be equally served. From a regional perspective, notwithstanding Guyana’s relatively low per capita income and small population, it is reasonable to expect that our consumer service aspirations will be comparable with those of their regional counterparts. Therefore, while recognizing that every investment must be driven by a viable business case, GT&T will still aim to provide services which are modern and sophisticated as the best regional provider.”The CEO also outlined his company’s position on the ongoing negotiations to break the current landline and international calls monopoly, which has stagnated expansion.Spectrum Delays“Regrettably, GT&T’s transformation plans continue to be adversely affected by the non availability of appropriate spectrum for 3G/4G offerings. Last year at this gathering, I detailed that as a company, we lost over four years since our initial request for appropriate spectrum. I would have been happy this evening to announce that we have a resolution in sight. Unfortunately this is not so.”He said the deployment of next generation wireless is stalled despite spectrum proposals and presentation on a way forward that would relieve congestion and enable next generation technology and service.“However, we intend to intensify our efforts with the relevant authority to move beyond this impasse. It is a disservice to all that our society is denied the exponential benefits of a 3G/4G telecommunication infrastructure.”GT&T is also working to capitalize in other areas with its current control on the landline service which have several possibilities.“…we believe that our wireline infrastructure can be leveraged to our advantage, as operators throughout the Caribbean have done. In this regard, the media should be aware that GT&T has deployed and successfully tested a pilot fibre to the home network project on the West Bank of Demerara.”Sharma was referring to a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) via fibre, which will be launched in a commercial manner during the course of the year.“The success of this pilot places us in an excellent position to replicate this GPON network in other coastal unserved and underserved areas.”Welcome LiberalizationAddressing the company’s liberalization stance, the CEO said that GT&T has publicly stated its support.“To that extent we have made both written and oral submissions to the Special Select Committee on Telecommunication Reform (Parliamentary) on specific aspect of the legislation.”However, GT&T is holding fast to the treatment of its contractual rights and Government obligations as contained in its agreement with Government.“It is disappointing that notwithstanding our numerous meetings and offer of a negotiated settlement, this issue remains unresolved. We have repeatedly reiterated our willingness to engage the Government, and have shown tremendous good faith efforts to address our contractual rights that can pave the way to implement a far reaching reform of the Guyana Telecoms sector.”As a matter of fact, since 2008, GT&T has been reaching out during numerous dialogues to bring a settlement.“GT&T has made many overtures/proposals and frequently made itself available, yet the state of negotiations is stalled through no fault of GT&T. It is unfortunate that this crucial issue of our contract has not been conclusively addressed and the legislation is now before the Select Committee.”He bemoaned the fact that there is no realistic enforcement of its licenced rights.“The truth is that insofar as there is no meaningful enforcement of our licensed rights, the license in itself has become meaningless. Even as we speak, GTT is competing fiercely in virtually every market segment in which it operates. All we ask in the new dispensation is policy certainty, predictable regulation and even-handed treatment.”