Disagrees with DIGICEL’s Linehan on pace of discussions
Atlantic Tele Network Chairman Cornelius Prior (jr) has told Stabroek Business that the pace of the current telecommunications liberalization talks between GT&T and the Government of Guyana is being dictated by the complexity of the issues under discussion and that he does not share the view expressed two weeks ago by former Chief Executive Officer of DIGICEL’s Guyana operations, Mark Linehan that the talks are moving “too slowly.”
“I can understand that DIGICEL may be in a hurry to see the discussions come to a close but, given the various complex issues on the agenda for the talks, the discussions must move slowly. These discussions are not simply about liberalization, It is also about the telecommunications sector, after liberalization, Prior told Stabroek Business in an exclusive interview earlier this week, Prior told Stabroek Business that DIGICEL’s haste to see the talks reach a conclusion ought not to obscure an appreciation of “the important and complex nature” of the talks.
GT&T and government have been engaged in talks designed to lead to the liberalization of the telecommunications sector since earlier this year and both sides have maintained a silence on the discussions. While the ATN Chairman made no specific disclosures in relation to the ongoing discussions he declared that the talks could involve, among other things, “the making of difficult choices.”
Prior told Stabroek Business that Guyanese telephone subscribers continued to benefit from a relatively inexpensive service because of the higher rates charged by the company for incoming calls, adding that removal of the existing GT&T monopoly on the external communication and reduced returns arising out of competition could mean an increase in the cost of the domestic telephone service.
According to Prior while ATN fully embraced private sector competition, the concept of monopoly had to be seen in the context of both the sector and the circumstances. He said that the contractual circumstance that currently obtains between GT&T and the Government of Guyana was necessary in order to allow time for the investor to secure returns on investment.
Meanwhile, Prior disclosed that ATN has already invested more than US$300m in Guyana and that the investment has gone “very well” for the company. Prior further disclosed that last year the company invested more than $US17m in local telecommunications infrastructure, most of which went into enhancing GT&T’s local wireless infrastructure. “We continue to plough back profits into the development of the sector and I believe that the relationship has been profitable both for us and for Guyana.”
