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Oct 02, 2014 News
…it’s only for the legislation to be passed
By Latoya Giles
Digicel’s Chief Executive Officer Gregory Dean has once again said that while his company is ready to make major investments in Guyana, the non passage of the Telecommunication Bill continues to hamper business.
Dean described the “non-passage” of the Bill as a bigger issue for the country. If a person is to look at the statistics, access to broadband and access to communication, it would be clear.
Dean told Kaieteur News that there’s no secret that Digicel wants to invest and become a full service communications player, not only in terms of expanding the current services they offer on the mobile phone but to also upgrade the present service.
“We would also like to get into the landline and internet businesses, plus we’d like to run our own fiber optic cables too since we are looking to further our business here in Guyana,” Dean said.
According to Dean, it’s unfortunate that people often characterize the problem as a “Digicel issue”.
“We are just one of the operators in the country that would want to see the liberalization of the sector, and it needs to be resolved urgently” the CEO told this publication.
Dean maintained that his company which touts itself as the “Bigger Better Network” is ready to make major investments in the country and would begin to do so immediately after the legislation is passed.
“Guyana has one of the lowest accesses to broadband; the only thing we come out on top is with regards to the prices” the CEO told Kaieteur News. Dean also stated that lobbying the parliamentary group continues to be a sore point for the company.
Parliament went into recess on August 10 last but the Telecommunications Bill which was expected to be debated was not heard. There has been mounting pressure for the passage of new telecoms legislations which could pave the way for new players to enter the market.
Dean has said that once the Bill is passed Digicel is prepared to launch a wide array of services including landlines and high-speed 4G services.
Within the last few weeks top executives of Digicel, including owner, Denis O’Brien, met with President Donald Ramotar, signaling readiness to invest millions of dollars in new technologies.
According to the CEO, when Digicel initially entered Guyana, the focus was on opening the market to allow it to also compete with international calls. However, new high-end phones and other devices offering possibilities have seen Digicel eager to enter what was previously uncharted territory.
A recently released study of the Inter-American Development Bank placed Guyana at the bottom of the region in terms of internet speed, yet one of the most expensive.
“Digicel is more than happy to compete with anyone. It can only benefit Guyana in terms of service and price.”
Dean believes that his company can rollout the services in as little as year, in a market considered an important one for the group.
Since its entry into the Guyana market in 2007, Digicel has sunk US$70M in network and data services.
However, though it has managed to move its population coverage to 96 per cent, up from 70 per cent, it is only managing to cover a mere 14 per cent because of the terrain. The size of the country has been a major challenge in expanding to remote areas, Dean said.
However, Digicel is not daunted. The coming of the Linden/Lethem Road will ease the mobilization challenges.
Already, the company has reached remote locations in the North West District, like Baramita, Arakaka and also Eteringbang.
According to the official, Digicel is aware of the fact that only a depressing five per cent of the population has access to broadband services.
This places Guyana at a severe disadvantage in terms of moving apace with the rest of the world.
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