THE PHONE SERVICE GETS WORSE

It turns out that BTC has no response either to the complaints of the PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell on deterioration of service over the past month, nor to the notes of support in social media of Mr. Mitchell’s comments.  They have said nothing at all.  However, it is clear that some stronger action is now required.  To us this means that the company must be sold back to the government and actors who have the national interest at heart should be given the opportunity to rebirth the corporation.  Right now as a matter of routine, if you try to use their voice over internet protocol phone system, you will have to wait five or six seconds before you connect and further, you likely have to try three or four times before you can make the connection at all.  It reminds you of the days before the country abandoned the old TDMA system before it finally collapsed. Aliv has outpaced BTC in its ability to give service.  They lead in the fibre lines that they have laid in the country.  BTC has not only lagged behind in investment but are also experts in selling off assets, laying off staff and extracting profits from a dying system.  This cannot be good in a country that is constantly boasting about digitizing many governmental and other functions. In our view neither the government nor URCA are being aggressive enough in solving this vexing problem. Add to it now the pressure from the United States to buy substandard and more expensive equipment for the system to upgrade.  The Chinese are the best in the business but given the threats by the US to our wellbeing the country will have to capitulate and not buy Chinese equipment even though pound for pound and price for price, the Chinese equipment is superior.