GUYANA Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) must provide the evidence that it has the network capacity to meet the needs of the market before a decision is taken to discontinue Digicel’s link to Suriname, the Public Telecommunication Ministry said.

The Ministry’s statement on Sunday comes amid calls by GTT for an investigation to be conducted into Digicel’s alleged “illegal, unlicensed trans-border link between Guyana and Suriname”.

The telephone giant is also demanding that Digicel makes public its records detailing tax payments on the revenue generated by this perceived illegal bypass operation in the interest of transparency.

According to the Ministry, it has been actively engaging both GTT and Digicel in discussions on GTT’s claims of unlicensed transmission of voice and data traffic by Digicel across the Guyana-Suriname border.

It said that the matter has proven to be a complex one, exacerbated by demands of the market for adequate voice and data services. “Among the issues to be considered are whether GTT has sufficient data capacity to meet the needs of the market and the degree of congestion of its network,” the Ministry headed by Minister Cathy Hughes noted.

It said GTT has been invited to submit relevant information and data to clearly demonstrate that it has the network capacity to ensure that the people of Guyana will not be adversely affected by discontinuance of the Digicel link to Suriname.

NOT CONDONING ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
The Ministry, however, said its current position should not be misconstrued to mean that it is willing to condone illegal activities.

“The Ministry wishes to emphasise that this does not mean that the Government is in any way eager to condone this activity, but in this age of such high dependence on telecommunications and the Internet for the conduct of business, learning and many activities of life, we must be satisfied that there is adequate communications available for the people,” the Ministry stated.

It said while Government is committed to ensuring that applicable licence terms and conditions are honoured, it must also ensure that the required obligations in the licence that provide for adequate service are met, as well as the needs of the people.

The Public Telecommunications Ministry said it is well aware that increased investment and greater network capacity are needed to meet the demands of consumers.

“The Ministry believes that a fully liberalised and competitive sector will prevent the resurgence of claims such as these,” it said.

GTT strongly believes that Digicel should have paid US$30M or GY$7B to Guyana’s treasury over the last five years based on revenues garnered from the alleged illegal by-pass.

A DEFLECTION
In a statement on Sunday, Digicel said GTT’s allegation is another irresponsible attempt to deflect from the material issues that have now been brought to bear upon the company by the onset of liberalisation in Guyana.

Digicel said that any question of the illegality can only be determined upon the judicial construction of the respective licences of both Digicel and GTT and upon consideration of all the relevant facts.

“At present there are matters before the court in which the court is called upon to make determinations in relation to the same issues. One such matter is the Constitutional Motion filed by Digicel against GTT in which Digicel challenges the fundamental legality of GTT’s authorisations to operate in Guyana and the extent to which these run counter to the tenets of the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana,” Digicel explained.
The company emphasised that only when the court rules on these fundamental legal principles, can any determination be made in relation to legality.

“Before Digicel entered the market in 2007, GTT was the sole provider of all telecommunications services in Guyana and telecommunications services were generally out of the reach of(the)Guyanese people. The prices for services were prohibitive, the quality of services was poor and the access to services in the remote areas of Guyana was only a hope for many Guyanese,” Digicel pointed out.

Despite many challenges, Digicel said it managed to bring competition, vibrancy and real connectivity to the people of Guyana –providing services to persons in many remote areas of the country, such as Eteringbang, Aishalton and Baramita.

The company said when the Telecommunications Act is promulgated, “all questions as to monopolies will become moot and consumers throughout Guyana can look forward to significantly increased levels of access to electronic communications services”.

In the meantime, Digicel is standing by its legal positions.