THE ongoing court matter between Telecommunications Authority Suriname (TAS) and Digicel Suriname has affected the operations of both companies here, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes has said.

She said that the court matter does not only affect the companies but, it also has implications for Guyanese subscribers. “We have been advised that Digicel Guyana and GTT are trying to work towards a solution,” said the minister in an invited comment on Thursday.

Digicel had taken legal action against TSA for shutting down an alleged illegal “microwave link” which Digicel used to feed data capacity to its unit in Guyana.

According to a report from the Irish Times, the Surinamese authorities made their move “under pressure” from authorities in Guyana where Digicel’s rival is GTT. But, Minister Hughes refuted those claims, noting that the government did not apply any pressure to Surinamese authorities.

GTT, however, has long complained that Digicel should be forced to buy its data capacity from its rival instead of feeding it over the border, presumably for less cost.
GTT recently said that it had recorded tens of millions of United States (US) dollars in losses because of their main competitor Digicel’s alleged bypass of GTT’s subsea fibre optic network. It claims the link is illegal. But according to the Irish Times, Digicel has denied those claims.

Contacted by The Irish Times, Digicel said it is taking court action: “Digicel disputes any allegations of illegality and as the matter is currently before the court, we are unable to comment any further at this time.”

It is understood that Digicel is seeking an injunction to force TAS to reverse its actions.
In light of the allegations against Digicel and with a possibility that the “microwave link” could be broken, Nedd believes that GTT has the capacity to supply Digicel with data because in March this year, GTT’s fibre optic network was tested when the company had to carry the “traffic” for Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.