THE Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and Digicel Guyana are at present in contention over access to the MMG App which GT&T is providing to all customers but claims that Digicel has been blocking access by its subscribers.The Guyana Chronicle yesterday was among other dailies who carried a paid advertisement from GT&T that lashed out at Digicel for allegedly restricting customers from accessing the Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) App that is available at Play Store for all mobile users.
Digicel, in a response, said the claims are false and that it was contacted by GT&T recently where the reported inability to access the app by Digicel customers was not possible and Digicel assured the other network that they will be looking into the concerns.
According to the “Do More” Network, it has noted what seems to be an action by Digicel to restrict its customers from accessing Mobile Money.
“GT&T recently extended its Mobile Money service to these customers who clamored to have access to the service based on its convenient, wide-reaching, safe and reliable qualities,” the advertisement from GT&T stated.
This publication contacted senior functionaries at Digicel for a response on the ad and among other things the company stated: “GT&T contacted us last Thursday for the first time, (the App has been in the market since October) and we responded by saying we would investigate and try and help.”

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
In its advertisement, GT&T said it believes that it is the right of customers to choose their applications and services and the company has always lobbied for a level playing field for the benefit of all customers.
The company added that the application for Mobile Money is available at Play Store for android and calls are toll free to the customer number 0664.
“In the interest of customers we hope that prudent judgment prevails and customer’s right to choose would be respected,” GT&T posited.
Digicel in its response through its press statement said: “We would like to emphasize that the GT&T App and its functionality is the responsibility of GT&T to ensure it works properly. We are therefore disappointed in GT&T’s approach to this matter. On a wider note, we welcome GT&T’s very recent conversion to customers’ choice and look forward to this new approach to be applied to residential landlines and liberalisation of the telecoms sector so every Guyanese can enjoy the benefits of improved communications in Guyana rather than the current monopoly which restrict customers’ choice.”
The Mobile Money Application which is available on the platforms of mobile phones does not need internet to be active but once there is a cellphone signal the application can work once a customer signs up for it.
The feature was rolled out by GT&T in 2014 and is used mainly by customers to pay utility bills and in some instances transfer money from remote locations to rural areas or the other way around.
Reference was also made to it by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan during his budget presentation earlier this year.
The Public Utilities Commission is expected to engage the two companies with respect to the latest development. The most notable involvement between the PUC and the two companies was bringing both GT&T and Digicel to a compromise on facilitating customers from both networks to text each other for a very reasonable cost.
That move was welcomed by subscribers of both companies and there is now increased cross-texting between customers of the two networks.