Dear Editor,
The SN article of June 8, 2009 captioned ‘GT&T says business plan for cable can’t be finalized yet’ is another narrative of a poor excuse in the litany of GT&T’s excuses for the sad state of high-speed communication in Guy-ana. The Guyanese people need to know how much GT&T intends to charge them for high-speed internet service when the new fibre optic cable comes on stream. GT&T had announced this fibre optic cable last year, and like any prudent business organization would have had plans in place for some time prior to that announcement. It would have engaged in a business analysis including a diligent cost-benefit assessment. GT&T would have completed such an assessment before committing to the expenditure of at least US$30M. The PUC is right to ask why GT&T is taking this long in informing the public of how much it intends to charge the public for its service. More importantly, the public needs to know whether there would be opportunities for liberalization of this service to drive down costs.
GT&T’s asserted ignorance of the state of potential demand, the state of the industry and possible future transformations of the ICT sector in Guyana is mind-boggling, considering that this is the premier information and communication technology organization in Guyana and should have this information at its fingertips. Is GT&T telling the Guyanese public that it had no business plan when it decided to sign this US$30M deal? When GT&T declares that it is impractical to finalize a business plan because it is unaware of “other relevant factors that may be determined by the Government’s ongoing sector review and ICT programme planning,” it is laughable. GT&T knows its licence is up shortly. It decided, armed with that full knowledge, to proceed with this fibre optic cable.
GT&T reportedly stated in its letter to the PUC: “…we await clarification of the Government’s plans for the telecoms sector reform and for developing the ICT sector in Guyana.” If GT&T had concerns about the government’s “ongoing sector review” it should not have committed to such a massive expenditure. When GT&T commits to such a colossal undertaking it was clearly in the hope that it was enough to ensure the government’s sector review would turn out favourable to it. GT&T cannot have its cake and eat it too. Furthermore, the government has publicly hinted at liberalization of the sector. GT&T took a gamble here to win its coveted contract again. To blame its inability to submit a business plan to the PUC on the government’s ongoing sector review is nonsense and without substance. President Jagdeo announced just last month that the government will be selling its shares in GT&T and will commit the proceeds to developing the information communication technology (ICT) sector in Guyana, including subsidizing the cost of bandwidth in order to hasten internet penetration. Therefore, GT&T knows that a major boost will be coming from the government. If this is not sufficient favour-able information about ongoing sector review and ICT programme planning then GT&T should tell the public what exactly is!
It is common knowledge that GT&T is the main power broker in the communications sector in Guyana. The government is hamstrung and effectively marginalized in this sector given the nature of GT&T’s contract which ensures a virtual monopoly in vital areas of the sector. The PUC raises an important issue of brinkmanship by GT&T. The time for games is over. GT&T had better demonstrate a newfound commitment to the consumer and a willingness to revamp its approach to offering services in Guyana or it may find itself standing alone fibre optic cable in hand.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Maxwell
