GTT ‘high-speed’ internet service criticised by Essequibians.

Feb 02, 2018 News

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company [GTT], is once again been pilloried by its Essequibian customers. The company, about one year ago, unveiled in Essequibo for the first time its LTE 4G service. During the unveiling of the new service on February 27, 2017, the company’s CEO, Justin Nedd, said that the LTE 4G internet is the ‘highest speed’ and ‘most affordable’ internet on the Essequibo coasts.
Nedd’s words today prove to be very untrue, according to many disappointed customers. They are now describing the service as being the most sloppy internet service on the Essequibo Coast.
As it relates to the aspect of ‘high-speed,’ many today find it challenging to stream a video, or browse the internet at certain hours. Initially, the service was indeed the fastest on the Essequibo Coast. Sadly as the months increased the internet speed gradually reduced.
As it relates to affordability, residents on the Essequibo Coast are paying between $8,000 and $10,000 per month, for a capped data supply of 50 Gigabytes. Customers believe that GTT should urgently upgrade its service, to help them keep track of their data balance.
The internet plays an integral role in the business community, as it fosters developmental research and connect markets. The Essequibo Coast is a business community which like many, is highly dependent on the internet. Commenting on this issue was President of the Essequibo Chambers of Commerce [ECC], Mr. Deleep Singh.
Singh told this publication during an interview yesterday, that he recently met with the manager of GTT’s Anna Regina Branch.  “I asked the manager at Anna Regina directly how is the internet service so slow? All he said is that he’s only concerned with operations on the ground.
“I asked how to check my data balance? He said I gotta call the calling center.”
Like Mr. Singh, most customers are interested in checking their data balance, since they claim something ‘fishy’ happens in the billing process.
Customers, who seldom use the service, are often surprise when their data is diminished before its due date. Singh, who is one of such customer explained, “I have the service both at home and in the business. More people at the business are using the service and less people are using it at home, yet the same day of the month, both of the data finish.”
As president of the ECC, Singh is calling on the Minister of Telecommunications, to expedite the process of liberalising the telecommunication sector. He concluded by saying it is unfair for Essequibians to pay $10,000 per month for a capped data, and a service that hardly works.