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With a fibre internet network investment that can go from Guyana to the USA and back, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) said it is well positioned to provide 5G and other next generation services to Guyana.
“We expect that with our planned service enhancements, our customers will not be able to discern a difference in service whether they are in New York or Guyana,” said GTT’s Chief Executive Officer Justin Nedd said in a statement.
Nedd issued the statement on the heels of an announcement by Prime Minister Mark Phillips that the country’s Telecommunications Sector has been liberalized. The move, in effect, has broken the monopoly for which GTT held for more than 30 years.
“GTT has been serving Guyana and supporting the evolution of the country for near 30 years. As always, we stand ready to provide reliable connectivity, new services and technologies that allow consumers and businesses to thrive and support the growing Guyanese economy,” Nedd stated.
The telephone giant said it looks forward to partnering with the Government so that all Guyanese have the benefit of a transparent and competitive telecommunications sector.
Its primary competitor in the country, Digicel Guyana said the liberation of the Telecommunication Sector now paves way for Guyanese of all walks of life to have access to world class telecommunications services. “Digicel Guyana is today getting ready to bring a new era of connectivity and opportunity to the people of Guyana on the back of the news that the new Government has moved quickly to remove the 31-year GT&T telecoms monopoly which resulted in poor choice, poor quality, poor coverage and poor service,” the regional communications giant said in a statement.
To effectively liberalize the Telecommunications Sector, the Government issued two commencement orders to bring into full effect the Telecommunications Act 2016 (the “Act”) and the Public Utilities Commission Act 2016.
“The commencement of these Acts is nothing less than historic, aligning Guyana’s telecommunications regime to those found in other countries in the world, including most Caribbean countries, ending a thirty-year-old anti-competitive telecommunications monopoly, that have left Guyanese weary, frustrated and lagging behind in the telecommunications arena,” Prime Minister Mark Phillips in making the announcement late Monday night.
The Telecommunications Act 2016 was first laid by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in the 9th Parliament in August 2011, and again in the 10th Parliament in 2012, after extensive consultations with both the public and operators. During the life of both Parliaments, the Act enjoyed commendable bi-partisan support. It spent considerable time before a select committee, chaired by Carl Greenidge, and included Former Prime Minister Samuels Hinds, and then Minister Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The Act was finalized before the 2015 elections and was enacted by the Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition Government in 2016 by Minister Catherine Hughes, again with bi-partisan support. “It must be emphasized that these legislation straddled administrations, and were the subject of extensive negotiations with stakeholders which lasted nearly a decade,” the Prime Minister said.
