The South American state of Guyana is set to end the monopoly of fixed telecoms services, with mobile player Digicel ready to compete with Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) following the passing of a new law.
Kevin Kelly, CEO of Digicel’s Guyana business, told local media that the ending of GTT’s monopoly was a “laudable achievement” but added: “Digicel will now await engagement with the government to discuss our license and regulations for an open competitive sector. We believe this will create a competitive sector and will result in many benefits in terms of new and improved services for the people of Guyana.”
GTT was privatised in 1990 when the government sold 80% of the shares to US-based Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN). Justin Nedd, CEO of GTT, said the company was in negotiation with the government over the introduction of competition. He said the company would be improving internet services.
Nedd told local media: “Businesses need predictability, so once we have a predictable environment we could focus on driving the business, providing good service to the customer and getting things done right.”
Guyana has a population of almost 800,000. It has 160,000 fixed lines and 567,000 mobile phones.
