Following Rohee’s call for explanation… GT&T piqued at charges levelled over problems with 911-system

THE Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) company, on Tuesday, issued a very strong and detailed statement expressing its concern over comments made by Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, regarding problems with the Guyana Police Force’s 911 emergency response hotline.Rohee, at a press conference on the same day, said, “…the unresponsiveness of the 911 system is a technical error that GT&T is refusing to accept responsibility for.”
He had explained that the complaint from persons using the emergency hotlines is that when they call there is no answer, but the counter complaint from responders manning the hotlines is that the lines do not ring.
The Minister on Tuesday had effectively called for a response when he stated that GT&T “must explain” the technical problems.
NOT RESPONSIBLE
The giant telecommunications company made it clear that it conducts weekly checks to ensure all lines are technically functional.
“GT&T records the answering GPF party once the line is answered during these routine tests. Priority is given to faults detected during tests or complaints reported when the line is answered,” the company said.
The telecommunications company reiterated that the “unresponsiveness of the 911 personnel” has nothing to do with GT&T.
The statement said, “Our checks have revealed that the following occur with great frequency: (a) the disappearance of handsets from the termination points of 911 lines at various Police Stations, (b) the removal of the handset off the hook, and (c) no answer by personnel during standard working hours.
“We are aware of the plans by the Ministry of Home Affairs to upgrade their national emergency system, to include police, fire and ambulance services using the 911 facility.”
According to the company, the 911 service is installed and operated like any other landline/fixed service provided by GT&T, the only difference being the use of three digits (911), instead of the standard seven digits.
“We provide toll free 911 facilities that are housed at Police Stations and are manned solely by the Guyana Police Force and their operatives. Hence GT&T has no responsibility nor visibility as to manning levels and indeed whether or not there are GPF personnel tasked with twenty four hours, seven days (24 x 7) , 365 day manning of the 911 facilities across the country,” GT&T said.
It added that prior to 2006, all calls to the 911 number were answered at the Brickdam Police Station regardless of which area of the country the calls originated and at the request of the Guyana Police Force, GT&T officials met in 2005 with the GPF to review the 911 operation.
“A decision was taken at the meeting that landline calls to 911 be answered at various police stations based on a detailed schedule submitted by the Guyana Police Force. This was done as requested since GPF officials at that time indicated that this dispersion factored in geography and would aid the GPF’s response times,” the company said.
As a result, each district has one dedicated 911 line, with Georgetown and New Amsterdam being exceptions, since these two districts have four dedicated lines each. All cell calls irrespective of where they are made from are answered at the Brickdam Police Station.
NOT PRIVY TO REPORT
A completed report by American experts, on the review of the emergency response hotlines, is currently with the Home Affairs Minister, but GT&T has said that it has not been privy to the details of that report.
Two American experts spent five days in Guyana, in March, reviewing the emergency hotline system, as well as visiting police stations and meeting with various stakeholders – a necessary intervention, according to the subject Minister, given the lack of “internal capacity” to address the deficiencies in the system.
GT&T noted that earlier this year it “cooperated with their consultant in two rounds of discussions which were essentially data gathering sessions and are awaiting a formal needs/submission summary such that implementation design and costs can be confirmed and addressed based on the consultant’s recommendations and the Ministry’s review of same.
“As such, it is with great surprise that reportedly the consultants’ identified “technical faults” as being responsible for 911 calls being unanswered.
“GT&T for the record wishes to also confirm that we are not privy to the consultants’ assessments and conclusion that presumably have been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
The company added that it stands ready to supply technical inputs to the improvement of said service with an objective of assisting the Ministry of Home Affairs in correcting and providing an efficient 911 police response since this would be in the national interest.
The company, to this end, underscored the need for an urgent investigation and review of all facts, which would highlight all issues, associated with 911 services and reported deficiencies of same.
It said, “GT&T values the excellent working relationship that GT&T has with the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Guyana Police Force and would therefore wish for this important National Security matter to be addressed from a facts based perspective as opposed to apparent innuendo, misconceptions and false conclusions, which we presume have been erroneously supplied to the Honorable Minister, resulting in today’s public release which has potential for public anxiety.
“…for simplicity, it is not within our control who answers the 911 phone. GT&T’s responsibility begins and ends with ensuring access by all subscribers to the assigned 911 fixed service lines and ensuring maintenance of this access as a priority.”
GT&T maintains that it is a service provider which prides itself on its coordination and cooperation with all state entities in particular the nation’s first responders.
(V. Narine)

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