GT&T boss gripes on Facebook; gov't comments
Written by Kwesi Isles Wednesday, 21 September 2011 21:38
Yog Mahadeo
CEO of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Yog Mahadeo has taken to his Facebook page to protest what he sees as the government’s opposition to the company’s expansion but the administration wasted no time in responding and not via the “like” button. Writing on his page Wednesday Mahadeo stated that GT&T’s inability to spread broadband and voice systems beyond current geography and speeds is due primarily to their failure to get certain allocations from the government.
“I have listened to frustrated communities and friends who want more Bandwidth, who wants more service, and those who want even the basic narrow band service. We have been held back, others have come and failed...yet we are held back,” Mahadeo lamented. He added that they were willing to spread the Emagine broadband service across the country within one year of its July 2010 launch but that they were hamstrung without the government’s permits and allocations. “The investors were willing to invest heavily in distribution at lower rates. As I told those colleagues: I wish I could do more,” the CEO concluded in his wall post.
About an hour after Mahadeo’s comment appeared the government’s de facto Director of Telecommunications Gita Raghubir responded on his Facebook wall chiding him for implying that the administration was treating his company unfairly. “You know that the development of the sector is being handled in a very structured manner and that your application for new "allocations" along with applications from many other eager potential investors (and current investors) are under consideration. You are fully aware of our efforts to approach the evolution of this sector in a logical, even handed manner establishing a level playing field for all players and allowing others an opportunity to contribute to the development of the sector so that all Guyana benefits,” Raghubir stated.
According to her, there are those who feel that GT&T has been given the “lion's share of opportunities” and can do much more with the permissions that they currently have and have had for in excess of 20 years. “Any fair-minded person who examines the new laws for the sector (that will go through the third readings in Parliament tomorrow) will concur that the new laws epitomise GoG's commitment to evenhandedness in the sector,” Raghubir stated.
The Telecommunications Bill is expected to pass in the National Assembly Thursday after spending some time in a Special Select Committee and its eventual enactment will see the removal of GT&T’s virtual monopoly on international voice and data services. GT&T’s 20-year exclusive licence for those services is up for renewal and the government had been signalling for years that there was going to be changes in the telecoms sector. International traffic is currently routed through GT&T.
The legislation paves the way for the creation of a Telecommunications Agency into which the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) will be incorporated. The members of the Agency shall be appointed by the minister with there being a Director and Deputy Director of Telecommunications and heads of divisions as may be designated by the minister. Raghubir, currently with the NFMU, had long been identified as the Director.
Source
Written by Kwesi Isles Wednesday, 21 September 2011 21:38
Yog Mahadeo
CEO of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Yog Mahadeo has taken to his Facebook page to protest what he sees as the government’s opposition to the company’s expansion but the administration wasted no time in responding and not via the “like” button. Writing on his page Wednesday Mahadeo stated that GT&T’s inability to spread broadband and voice systems beyond current geography and speeds is due primarily to their failure to get certain allocations from the government.
“I have listened to frustrated communities and friends who want more Bandwidth, who wants more service, and those who want even the basic narrow band service. We have been held back, others have come and failed...yet we are held back,” Mahadeo lamented. He added that they were willing to spread the Emagine broadband service across the country within one year of its July 2010 launch but that they were hamstrung without the government’s permits and allocations. “The investors were willing to invest heavily in distribution at lower rates. As I told those colleagues: I wish I could do more,” the CEO concluded in his wall post.
About an hour after Mahadeo’s comment appeared the government’s de facto Director of Telecommunications Gita Raghubir responded on his Facebook wall chiding him for implying that the administration was treating his company unfairly. “You know that the development of the sector is being handled in a very structured manner and that your application for new "allocations" along with applications from many other eager potential investors (and current investors) are under consideration. You are fully aware of our efforts to approach the evolution of this sector in a logical, even handed manner establishing a level playing field for all players and allowing others an opportunity to contribute to the development of the sector so that all Guyana benefits,” Raghubir stated.
According to her, there are those who feel that GT&T has been given the “lion's share of opportunities” and can do much more with the permissions that they currently have and have had for in excess of 20 years. “Any fair-minded person who examines the new laws for the sector (that will go through the third readings in Parliament tomorrow) will concur that the new laws epitomise GoG's commitment to evenhandedness in the sector,” Raghubir stated.
The Telecommunications Bill is expected to pass in the National Assembly Thursday after spending some time in a Special Select Committee and its eventual enactment will see the removal of GT&T’s virtual monopoly on international voice and data services. GT&T’s 20-year exclusive licence for those services is up for renewal and the government had been signalling for years that there was going to be changes in the telecoms sector. International traffic is currently routed through GT&T.
The legislation paves the way for the creation of a Telecommunications Agency into which the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) will be incorporated. The members of the Agency shall be appointed by the minister with there being a Director and Deputy Director of Telecommunications and heads of divisions as may be designated by the minister. Raghubir, currently with the NFMU, had long been identified as the Director.
Source
