GT&T and Digicel yesterday registered surprise at claims by the tourism ministry that it had received numerous complaints from persons in the US who said they had been experiencing difficulties connecting to cell phones on both networks.
When Stabroek News contacted the companies for a comment they both seemed unaware of the complaints while GT&T Public Relations Officer Allison Parker said the ministry could have forwarded its concerns to the company before going public. She said too the complaints were not accompanied by supporting details and these were not forthcoming even after queries were made at the ministry.
Parker said “it helps our troubleshooting if the complaint is supported by details such as the number of complaints received, the state that the persons are calling from, time of day and the facility being used; whether it is a GT&T or Digicel roaming handset or a normal wire line phone or if too the callers are using calling cards.”
Parker also explained that GT&T had put out a notice on Monday indicating that its mobile network in East Berbice was experiencing problems due to interference. She said that problem has been partially solved. Additionally, Parker said that a piece of equipment belonging to the Guyana Sugar Corporation had damaged one of the company’s cables between Blairmont and La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara on Wednesday. While that problem has been rectified, Parker said it may be that the disruption or restoration activity offered a window when a few calls to the mobile network may have failed.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News’ efforts to contact the Permanent Secretary at the ministry for more details about the complaints proved futile. During numerous conversations with this newspaper his secretary said he was entertaining other calls. However, no calls were returned to this newspaper.
When this newspaper contacted Digicel Public Relations Consultant Alex Graham for a comment he said the company would respond with a statement.
