Georgetown: Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said he is hoping that the second draft of the Telecommunications Bill that is currently before a Special Select Committee in Parliament would be sorted out before the August, 2014 recess of the National Assembly.
The Prime Minister, who is tasked with overlooking the Telecommunications Sector, said that the liberalisation of the sector would help to “free up” it for all Guyanese. “I know that this would be a good thing for all,” he said.
Prime Minister Hinds moved the motions on the liberalisation of the sector late last year in the National Assembly. It is hoped that with its passage, the bill will see an end to the monopoly held by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).
GT&T is Guyana’s premier telecommunications provider, coming into existence some 23 years ago.
Giant mobile phone company and rival Digicel had said also that it was looking forward to the early passage of the Telecommunications Bill, which, according to it, will help pave the way for the ending of the monopoly of the sector.
GT&T currently has a monopoly on all landline and international services, which was supposed to expire after 20 years.
The Telecommunications Bill had been on Parliament’s agenda since 2012, the Prime Minister reminded. The Telecommunications Bill 2011 allows for the establishment of the telecommunications agency as well as a regular, coordinated, open and competitive telecommunications sector.
Having such a bill enacted would provide for an open, liberalised and competitive telecommunications sector that would be attractive to new entrants as well as investors, while sustaining the active players within the sector.
Additionally, the bill would allow for amendments to be made to the Public Utilities Commission Act 1999.
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