The new regulations, which have been approved by the council of ministers, address issues including consumer protection, submarine cable access, network infrastructure access, and wholesale services rules.
At its 34th regular meeting, held in St. Lucia, EcTel said it aims to address access issues on networks held by dominant operators, and also to publish guidelines on the conduct of market analyses.
The Council also discussed its current work, including addressing the impact of Cable and Wireless’ $1.85 million acquisition of Columbus International, completed in March 2015.
The new legislation has been introduced six months after the authority announced it had been unable to reach an amicable agreement with Cable & Wireless Communication (CWC) over its acquisition of Columbus International because it had insufficient legal standing to stop or impose remedies the companies involved.
The ECTEL Council of Ministers approved the sum of EC$10,000 (£3,029) as a contribution from the member states to address the emergency rehabilitation of the people of Haiti who lost lives, property and livelihoods following the passage of hurricane Matthew in September 2016, according to a report in St. Lucia News online.
Ectel’s Council added that the ministers will now spend two months familiarising their respective countries with the purposes and provisions of the new legislation.
