Even with the Telecommunications Liberalization Bill passed in Parliament, CEO of BrainStreet Lance Hinds said that a tougher road is ahead in getting a fully liberalized ICT sector.
Speaking at an ICT discussion yesterday in the Conference Room of the National Library, Hinds said the ICT sector would not move forward unless an “enabling environment” is created. “If you don’t build that kind of enabling environment then it’s going to be difficult in moving forward the way we would want to,” Hinds said.
“In 1990 the government signed a … exclusive agreement with Atlantic Tele Network and that is how GTT was created. The first exclusive licence was for 20 years with an option of automatic renewal for an additional 15 years in 2010… It came and the government did not intervene, so therefore it was extended for 15 years,” Hinds said, pointing out that the work that was done on liberalization from 2012 to 2013 in Parliament, through special committees resulted in the bill being passed last month.
