Former Telecommunications Minister, Catherine Hughes says she is disappointed with the progress made since the liberalization of the industry. Hughes, who was at the time responding to a question from Guyana Standard on Friday, explained that she expected more interest in the market from potential investors.
She noted that while she had nothing against the two major competitors in the current market, the passage of the Liberalization Bill should have brought more attention to the market; especially since Guyana is becoming an emerging oil and gas economy.
“I was expecting more competitors in the market. I was expecting to see more companies coming and offering a variety of services. But we still have a two horse race with our service providers. More should have been done at this point,” Hughes said.
She noted too that while two telecommunications companies have expanded their reach, there are still places in Guyana that are considered dead zones. She called on operators to take advantage of the opportunity available within the market.
The Telecommunications Act 2016 was first laid in the ninth Parliament in August 2011, and laid again in the 10th Parliament in 2012, after extensive consultations with both the public and operators.
According to Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired), Mark Phillips back in 2022, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) had done much work to prepare for the expected influx of opportunities that will transform the telecommunications sector; one such achievement was the establishment of an internal monitoring unit.
