The liberalization of Guyana’s telecommunications sector will create a level playing field in the sector while having far-reaching benefits for the people, President Irfaan Ali said.
“It is a level playing field that is based on size, gross income and so on. But the ultimate objective is for the Guyanese people; for them to have faster internet, more efficient, less costly and better bandwidth,” the President was reported as saying in a recent interview.
Two days ago, the Government issued Commencement Orders, bringing fully into force the Telecommunications Act 2016 and the Public Utilities Commission Act, the Office of the President said in a statement.
“We moved from a position, a year ago, where you were hearing from one of the major providers that they were cutting staff, to position today when there is an advertisement in the newspaper for staff. And they all said one thing, that Guyanese people can expect a better service, a more reliable service, a cheaper service. They’ve all said that,” President Ali said.
Further, the Head of State said, “… the call centres can add important additional income to the population. If you put a call centre for example, in Tuschen (East Bank Essequibo) and you train housewives who are otherwise at home to work in that call centre, and they earn even $70,000 a month, that is $70,000 additional income to that family.”
He said while Guyana traditionally had a competitive edge in the provision of services at call centres, owing to the language and investment regime, the high cost of bandwidth was a major challenge.
“We are the most competitive in terms of language because our accent is considered neutral. We had a good investment regime, but the cost of bandwidth was too much. That is resolved. And, as all the providers said, Guyana can expect ratings, and I have no doubt, this will bring great things for us,” he posited.
