New Guyana telecoms subsidiary giving USVI-based ATN stiff competition

by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Special Regional Correspondent

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

GEORGETOWN, Guyana:  The Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), a company publicly trading in the United States Virgin Island of St. Thomas, is up against extremely stiff new competition to its telecommunications operations in Guyana. 

The new kid on the block in the South American country's telecommunications market, Cel*Star Guyana, has invested some $37 million in a cellular phone system in order to go head-to-head with ATN, which is said to own some 80 percent of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co. (GTT). GTT has enjoyed a monopoly of the Guyana telecommunications market as a result of a 1991 deal with Guyana's government.

Telecommunications insiders told Caribbean Net News that the Guyana government got 20 percent of the company and ATN got a 20-year monopoly on the country's land-line telecommunications. 

Media Advisor to President Bharrat Jagdeo, Robert Persaud, reportedly said the monopoly was hindering economic growth by keeping telecommunication costs high with poor quality, adding that, Cel*Star's joining the market will help to break that monopoly and speed-up expansion and improvement of the country's telecommunications system. 

"Monopolies are a thing of the past," said he. 

According to government sources, ATN's GTT subsidiary has about 98,000 land-line customers. Guyana reportedly has in 700,000 people with GTT dominating the country's mobile phone market with 140,000 customers. 

A Cel*Star source told Caribbean Net News that the company should have completed the interconnecting of its mobile network with GTT by last weekend and expects to have some 20,000 customers by next month. 

Meanwhile, Cel*Star's marketing executive Nicole Johnson, said Monday that Cel*Star plans to compete by providing first-class customer service along with a range of specific services including international and local calling, Internet connections along with the popular text messaging. 

"It's a historic time for Guyana because they now have a new company to choose from," said Johnson. 

Telecommunication officials reports that three companies are licensed to offer mobile telecommunication services in the country however, the only two, with national coverage are, GTT and Cel*Star. 

The other company is a relatively small network located in Berbice which serves a small number of subscribers. 

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