Prime Minister Sam Hinds says government takes nothing from cable operators for the licences granted to them, since the size of the country’s population would not allow for viable cost recovery through cable service tariffs.
Hinds’ explanation why Guyana was not collecting a fee for the use of its cable spectrum came in wake of a report out of Jamaica that bidders will have to pay at least US$40 million to get one of two new cable licences to be auctioned in that country next month.
The Jamaica Observer reported that the island’s Spectrum Management Authority–whose counterpart here would be the National Frequency Management Unit–is managing the auction of the two 700-megahertz (MHz) band licences, which carry a minimum price of US$40 million and US$45 million for the pricier one.