The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) yesterday expressed its concern over advertisements in the print media in which both the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Ltd (GT&T) and Digicel were said to have placed matters before the commission in the public domain.
The commission in a press release urged the parties “to voice and to reconcile their differences at the appropriate forum which is the public hearing under the auspices of the PUC.”
According to the release, the GT&T’s promotion ‘Double Your Christmas Cheer’ to the public has engaged the commission’s attention, “but the way forward which was for the parties to meet, as suggested by the PUC, had not been followed, thus precluding the PUC from endorsing the promotional offer.”
GT&T in its advertisement yesterday, the release noted, alluded to the Free after 5 minutes/3 Minutes Digicel promotion and stated that they had brought this matter to the commission’s attention but the PUC had done nothing about it.
However, the PUC said, the matter is still under its consideration.
The PUC said further in relation to the GT&T promotion that, without prejudicing the matter, in its view “it would be good for all consumers on both networks to benefit from such a promotion, this being the month of December and the season of goodwill.”
The commission also asserted that it “does not wish to abdicate its statutory responsibility and have the matter adjudicated in the media, outside of a public hearing.”
In the release the PUC stated that it has a responsibility to the consumer and to the utilities and at all times its decisions are guided by “a sense of fair play taking into consideration the interests of all parties and stakeholders.”
The commission also assured that it is ever mindful to safeguard consumers’ interests and to ensure that they benefit from a fair and competitive environment.
