Phone company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) says it is awaiting a grant or release of spectrum to provide landline telephone service to certain sections of the country but the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) does not believe that this is necessary.
The PUC recently highlighted the company’s failure to provide reliable telephone service to sections of the country. The Commission had reminded the telecommunications company that the 1990 licensing agreement required that “GT&T establish facilities permitting telephone service along the entire coast from Crabwood Creek to Suddie and in interior locations within three years.”
More than two decades later, reliable landline service is not available on certain parts of the Essequibo Coast.
GT&T has responded that it is awaiting a grant or release of spectrum to provide the service.
The telephone service in Essequibo is provided through a wireless landline (WLL) technology as opposed to the “copper” used in certain areas. According to the PUC, “it is argued that the geo-terrain and population density, together with cost make wireless the better options for such areas.” In these areas, GT&T has been granted the 3.5 GHz spectrum for the deployment of service.
The commission contended that the areas served by WLL has witnessed a degradation in service. This contention is supported by reports from Essequibo residents who complain of a persistently unreliable service with issues such as disappearing/non-functioning numbers and dropped calls.
According to GT&T, the 3.5 GHz spectrum is not efficient, has limitations and the amount is insufficient for the new technologies which have been proposed.
In its response to GT&T, the PUC reminded the company that when its licensing agreement was signed, the parameters for provisions of service did not carry pre-conditions for the provision of spectrum. The commission also questioned why the company spent US$4.5 million to upgrade its network to WiMAX if the spectrum, vegetation, rainfall and terrain were so bad with the WLL system.
The WIMAX system, according to the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), utilises approximately three times the amount of spectrum as opposed to the old WLL system. “Why spend so much money and seek to provide guarantees when the same problems would befall the new network,” the PUC questioned
NFMU Chief Executive Officer Valmikki Singh who contributed to the discussion on qualities of spectrum during the hearings also disputed GT&T’s contentions. In his submission to the commission, he said that at least 165 WiMAX 3.5 GHZ networks are operating without issue in 74 countries. This means that GT&T’s submission that the 3.5 GHz band is problematic “cannot be sustained,” he asserted.
