– GTT CEO Justin Nedd

By Ariana Gordon
PROVISION of high-speed Internet for the Essequibo Coast and some interior locations are among the Guyana Telephone Telegraph (GTT) company’s plans for this year, Chief Executive Officer Justin Nedd has revealed.“So, 2016 is…pushing more Internet (in) far-reaching areas and at greater speeds,” Nedd said in an interview. He added that GTT will be engaged in a “significant deployment of Internet in the hinterland areas for Troy Resources.”

The provision of Internet for Troy Resources, a mining company, follows an agreement inked last year between the two companies that will see miners in surrounding areas benefitting from mobile services and high-speed Internet.

“…we do recognise the need for Internet in the rural areas, and we are actually looking for ways to work with the Government of Guyana (GoG) to put Internet in the rural areas,” GTT CEO Justin Nedd

Asked to speak on the cost attached to such a venture, Nedd said, “Deploying Internet in rural areas is always quite expensive.” He disclosed that the company would have to pay more to the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) for spectrum.

“But we do recognise the need for Internet in the rural areas, and we are actually looking for ways to work with the Government of Guyana (GoG) to put Internet in the rural areas,” Nedd said

He also disclosed that the telecommunications company intends to provide high-speed Internet to the people of Essequibo. “That is our commitment to the people of Essequibo. We will be providing them with high-speed Internet this year,” he declared.

Nedd explained that the deployment of Internet in rural communities is seen as very important in many countries, and governments recognise the significance of such deployment to the growth of rural areas. In some countries, he said, the government provides support to Internet service providers (ISP) either in the form of tax rebates, tax credits, or concessions.

“We haven’t had those discussions yet, but it is certainly something we are looking forward to,” Nedd disclosed.

The CEO said it must be recognised that the role of the government is to provide services to the people despite their location. The role of businesses, on the other hand, is to provide returns to the shareholders, however far and wide they are in the country; and the role of business is really to provide a return to the shareholders and afford quality service to customers.

“The roles are slightly different,” he said, “but there is some overlap. We want to come to the table and talk to the government about leveraging our desire to do good for the country,” he said impassionedly.

Back in 2010, the company had commissioned its Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SG-SCS), a US$30M investment which was aimed at providing great opportunities for information technology locally.

“GTT is the only company that landed a submarine cable at a significant cost –US$30M — that really provided high-speed Internet to the country,” Nedd said. “We want to leverage that investment and put that Internet out there for the betterment of the country,” he declared.

Nedd stressed that GTT wants to be known as “the company that fulfills its commitments to the people of Guyana”.

“We want to be known — and we will be known, and we will push very hard to be known — as the company that really does what it says it will do; and we will go the extra mile for our customers,” Nedd assured.

But while the company intends to meet the needs of its customer base, it faces the challenge of “an exclusivity arrangement”.

“Although there is an exclusivity arrangement on paper, we actually don’t realize the benefits, because what the exclusivity suggests is that GTT should be the sole provider of landlines and Internet. As you know, there are several options for Internet, and nobody does landline because it is so widely unprofitable,” Nedd revealed.

Nedd hopes that, despite the limitations, which also includes rates attached to landline services that have been unchanged for a decade, government will this year grant spectrum so that customers could be freed from “the bondage of 2G network.”

“Most people have a smart phone nowadays, but that’s all on a 2G network, and you really don’t realize the benefits of those phones on a 2G network. On 3G or 4G network, you are able to stream things right there and then, no buffering…and that’s what we are waiting on the government to actually grant spectrum for, to really liberate the customers,” Nedd revealed.

Improving customer service, extending reach, and ensuring customer satisfaction are critical to the success of GTT, Nedd said.
He believes that, notwithstanding the challenges facing the GTT and the telecommunications sector as a whole, GTT customers must have optimum satisfaction with the service provided by the company he runs.

“In 2016, we will invest heavily in making GTT a vibrant, powerful, and customer-driven customer-centric organization,” he disclosed.

In the interview with this publication, Nedd said the GTT has many plans for 2016, and all have the customer as the primary beneficiary. He explained that the company operates on three Es:- Easy to do business with; Expeditiously get things right the first time; and Exceedingly meet expectations.

“Our mandate is really to win for the customers. Everybody working at GTT is contributing to the growth of the company (and) to the happiness of the customers,” he said. With the customer in mind, the company hopes to increase its reach to many unserved rural communities. Nedd explained that, while a costly venture, it is important that customers across the country benefit from the services the company has to offer.
As such, the newly appointed CEO said, the company will be “very aggressive” with its sales and in reaching customers, a process he said started on September 3 and 4 last year when the company was rebranded and opened several new mobile stores.

“I think the customers have so far responded to that very, very well, certainly surpassing my expectations. But it just goes to show the pent-up demand for great service. We want to make that something customers could come to expect of GTT,” Nedd told this publication.

He explained that, in keeping with the company’s thrust of “doing more for the customer”, Internet speed increased while cost was slashed by 50 percent in several areas last year. “Five times the speed and 50 percent reduction -that’s a big win for the customers,” remarked Nedd, who committed to ensuring that more persons are able to receive Internet service.