The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company is expecting that the much-anticipated talks with the Government of Guyana which are expected to conclude with the termination of the monopoly which the company now holds in the local telecommunications sector will proceed in an atmosphere of professionalism and cordiality.
Speaking with Stabroek Business by telephone earlier this week GT&T Chief Executive Officer Major General (retd) Joe Singh disclosed that the talks between the two sides will begin during the last week in February. He said that GT&T was looking forward to the engagement and for an outcome that would enhance the telecommunications sector and the industry as a whole.
The commencement of the talks on the GT&T monopoly marks the beginning of a process which has been advocated by senior government officials including President Bharrat Jagdeo for more than a year. The government has argued that the liberalization of the telecommunications sector is necessary for improving the quality of service delivery and cutting costs to consumers for telephone and IT services. GT&T is on record as saying that it welcomed talks with the government on the liberalization of the sector despite the fact that it has pointed to various transgressions of the monopoly secured under an agreement with the previous political administration in 1991.
Singh told Stabroek Business that he expected that the talks would be attended by protocols for disclosure of developments arising out of the discussions. He declined to say whether representatives of GT&T’s parent company, Atlantic Tele Network, will join local company officials for the discussions. Stabroek Business understands that the government’s delegation at the discussions with GT&T will be led by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.
Talks on an end to the GT&T monopoly coincide with the seventeenth anniversary of the establishment of its operations in Guyana and the first anniversary of the arrival here of its competitor in the cellular service industry, DIGICEL. Since its arrival here DIGICEL has voiced its support for an end to the GT&T monopoly, asserting that an end to the monopoly would considerably reduce service rates.
GT&T is Guyana’s sole service provider in the country’s fixed wire (land line) telecommunications service and the company has won praise among local consumers for transforming the local telecommunications service since its arrival here. While the company’s critics have claimed that its charges for overseas calls have been high, the company has asserted that revenues from overseas calls have been used to subsidize the build-out of its less profitable domestic land line service.