| -poised to continue investment to advance services“We have been pushing relentlessly over a period of years for a framework to formally liberalise the sector,” said Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Justin Nedd, when asked if his company has been resisting liberalisation of the telecommunication sector. But despite GTT’s effort, Nedd noted that “For reasons that I don’t fully understand, we have not yet collectively been able to accomplish this (liberalisation).”He is,Cheap Jerseys Online, nevertheless, optimistic that “We now appear on the verge of an opportunity to make this happen and we eagerly look forward to working with the Administration on this framework.”He, moreover, regarded remarks that GTT views liberalisation as something bad or a threat as far from the truth, adding that “we are eager for the opportunities that a new and vibrant market will present.”In the local telecommunications sector, liberalisation means allowing other providers to legally enter the market, under a rule of law based framework without preferences or loopholes. GTT, according to Nedd, is very supportive of liberalisation and sees it as an essential aspect of modernizing and growing Guyana’s economy.“We have long and proactively sought to reach agreement for the voluntary relinquishing of GTT’s exclusivity on international traffic, and are heartened by statements from the current Administration that they will soon be ready to sit down with us and others and reach a positive outcome for all involved,” said Nedd.Such a positive outcome will both open the possibilities for new services and service providers, while also sending the right signals to encourage investment by current and potential new investors in the Guyanese economy.INFORMALLY LIBERALISEDNedd disclosed that GTT sees the whole information and communications technology (ICT) sector as the single most powerful tool to lift the economy of the country as a whole.As such he noted that formal liberalisation is an important part of unleashing the creative power of this sector.He pointed out that liberalisation will bring a consistent, fair and even set of rules for everyone in the market.The GTT CEO, however, noted that “this is not the case today. In fact, we use the saying internally that the market liberalised a long time ago informally. What I mean by that is that there are numerous companies in Guyana operating without legal authority who are providing wire line, wireless, video, internet, international and other services for which they are not licensed.”According to him, right now there is only one provider in the country that is operating in full compliance with the laws and regulations of the Government of Guyana and fulfilling all of its tax obligations to the country and its citizens – and that is GTT.“This is a critically important aspect of formal liberalization – meaning liberalization enshrined in law and enforced without preference – that all players in the market will adhere to the same requirements, to the rule of law, and to their full obligations to the Government of Guyana and its people,” Nedd added.Just last week it was announced that Government had granted a release of the spectrum to allow the service providers – GTT and Digicel – to provide Fourth Generation (4G) services. And according to Nedd, “both Digicel and GTT have been seeking the spectrum to do what we are doing now for many years.“We believe that GTT will have the best service, but ultimately that is up to the customers to decide. That is what competition is all about. We have been competing in wireless service for years.”INVESTMENTNedd observed that Guyana has been an independent nation for 50 years half of which GTT has been in existence. During this period the company claims to have invested more than $80B in developing and modernizing the telecommunications infrastructure allowing for 18,000 landlines in 1991 to 160,000 in 2016, more than 200,000 mobile phones and direct employment for more than 650 individuals, Nedd disclosed.According to him too, “We’ve paid over $51 billion to the national treasury in revenue, invested billions in infrastructure improvements to provide landline, mobile and internet services across Guyana.” In fact he informed that GTT is one of the largest private employers in the country and “we pay our taxes; all of our taxes.”Digicel, on the other hand, according to an informed Nedd, invested less than $2 billion in capital expenditure in fiscal year 2015. “We surpassed that investment for the same fiscal period,” he added even as he pointed out that Guyana was in fact one of Digicel group’s second lowest area of investment in 2015.”But Digicel has, on multiple occasions, said that GTT’s monopoly has held back Guyana for too long. Nedd in defence mode said, “I would have to ask Digicel – what monopoly? Words have meanings. GTT does not give out spectrum; it is the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) that does that.“When an exclusive license is not honoured and only GTT is in full compliance with the law, and then there are all other providers that are not in compliance, how can it be said, and in what way is GTT’s ‘supposed monopoly’ holding Guyana back?” questioned Nedd.GTT has done much for Guyana and intends to continue along this path, he said.Nedd is hopeful that liberalisation will not only soon become a reality but that it would happen this year.The possibility exists that the Telecommunication Bill, which will facilitate the liberalisation of the sector, will be passed this year. The Bill has been in limbo for a number of years.“We have been anticipating liberalisation for years and have been making important and substantial investments in newer and faster services and improved customer support to benefit the citizens of Guyana – and we are accelerating the pace of these positive changes,” he asserted.From the numerous positive responses, the GTT Boss noted that Guyana is noticing a new GTT committed to Doing More. “We have been heartened by the positive response. And we are far from done.”In this regard, he said that the next few years will see GTT delivering a “dizzying array of new ways to communicate, to learn, to share, to being entertained – to Doing More.“We are excited to be a leading driver of these improvements and GTT will earn the title of the number one telecommunications provider of choice in Guyana – not because we self-ordain GTT as such, but because we will deliver for our customers every day through straight talk and no gimmicks, blazing fast speeds, great value, rock-solid reliability and superior customer support.” |
