Joe Singh confirms resignation
The commissioning of GT&T’s Suriname–Guyana Submarine Cable System (SG-SCS) will take place in July as originally scheduled, and will immediately see residents in Georgetown and its environs having access to more bandwidth at cheaper prices, the company’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Yog Mahadeo says.
Mahadeo’s statements were made yesterday at a press conference, minutes after outgoing Chief Executive Officer Major General (rtd) Joe Singh said that the cable had been successfully routed to Guyana and that the next month and a half has been identified as a period for “configuration and testing”. He noted that during this period some amounts of additional bandwidth will be available. The total cost of the cable is US$61 million, with GT&T pouring US$30 million into its installation.
Speaking at the media briefing which took place at the company’s Brickdam Head Office, Mahadeo said that when the cable becomes completely operational in July, residents in Georgetown and some in Greater Georgetown will be the first to benefit. He pointed out that there were some geographical challenges that the company will have to address over time if Guyanese all across the nation are to reap the full benefits of the cable, which will take time. He said that towards the end of this year and the first quarter of next year, the company will be moving to expand the operations of the cable further east along the coast.
Mahadeo said that the company is currently working out innovative and attractively priced packages for its customers. He also said that from July, the company’s DSL customers are likely to benefit automatically from capacity that is four times the amount of the 256 kbs which they are currently paying for at the same price.
Mahadeo outlined the transformative impact that the cable will likely have on the country and in making GT&T into a more efficient company. He said that the company is now preparing to invest a further US$20m to US$30m to develop its systems within the country in an ongoing effort to make the establishment a “next generation” one. As part of this effort, Mahadeo said that the company’s employees will be retrained.
When asked about the likely impact that the government-funded fibre optic cable from Brazil will have on the company, the company’s management was adamant that they did not expect this to threaten the viability of GT&T.
Singh pointed to several public statements including some by President Bharrat Jagdeo which indicated that the government-sponsored cable will be used to facilitate e-governance. He said that in discussions with the administration there was talk of possible synergies between the GT&T cable and the government’s, which he noted were technical issues.
When it was pointed out that President Jagdeo had also talked about the government’s cable offering “competition” to GT&T’s, Singh said that this had not been communicated to the telephone company. He disclosed that the company representatives had met with the President as recently as last week to discuss progress with the cable. Singh said that he did not get the impression that this was a commercial venture even as he pointed out that GT&T’s cable will come into operation before the one belonging to the government. According to him, what happens after this, will most likely take place after dialogue between GT&T and the administration.
Mahadeo said that the cable will be especially useful to the private sector and indicated that the company will be pushing this among private sector entities. Singh said businesses would use the opportunity to retool, especially within the context of the National Competitiveness Strategy.
Leadership Change
Meanwhile, Major General (rtd) Singh also announced that coinciding with the formal commissioning of the cable, he will be stepping down as the CEO of the company and the current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mahadeo will take his place. Singh noted that when he first took over as CEO, he stated his intention to serve in that capacity for two years but that next month will be the fifth anniversary since he assumed office. Singh said that he is now prepared to enjoy his retirement even as he noted that he has been invited to join the company’s board. Singh stressed though that this will ultimately have to be decided by the company’s shareholders.
Singh noted that Mahadeo, who previously served in senior management positions at GuySuCo, had been identified for a while to take over as the company’s head. Mahadeo joined the company four years ago.
The deal for the cable system was inked between GT&T and Surinamese telecommunications company TELESUR in December 2008. In January GT&T commissioned the shore-end landing of the SG-SCS, which has a capacity of 264 gigawaves at the Kingston seawall. The project links the two countries through a state-of-the-art 1,200 kilometre (700 mile) submarine fibre optic cable connected to a worldwide network of similar cables through a landing station in Trinidad. The cable is routed from Chaguaramas, Trinidad to a branching unit in the Atlantic from where it is then diverted to Georgetown and Paramaribo in Suriname. The new cable offers 3,000 to 4,000 times more bandwidth than what is available through the Americas 11 cable and satellite link.
Also present at yesterday’s press conference were GT&T’s Deputy General Manager Communications Terry Holder and Director of Rate Marketing Gene Evelyn.
