The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ communications sector has “outpaced” its current regulatory framework, a senior Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) executive arguing that some rules under the current regime were “too prohibitive” and “not facilitating growth”.

Marlon Johnson, BTC’s senior vice-president of marketing and communications, told Tribune Business that the current regulatory framework governing the communications sector was no longer adequate. Emphasising that he was in no way criticising the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), Mr Johnson said a “fresh look” needed to be taken at its regulatory framework.

“The last revision to our regulatory framework would have happened four years ago, and since that time the sector would have moved on,” he explained. “We now have Cable Bahamas who is offering telephone service, we have other smaller providers coming up and offering service, and BTC is now on the cusp of introducing television services.

“The landscape would have moved on quite a bit over the last four to five years. The regulatory framework that we have today, we don’t think it’s adequate for the market we have. Our call now is to take a fresh look at URCA’s regulatory framework and start to make some very progressive changes that actually accomplishes what URCA sets out to do, which is to facilitate competition, protect consumers and facilitate choice in the marketplace.”

Mr Johnson added: “Our contention is that the current regime is actually restricting it, because some of the rules are too prohibitive and are not facilitating growth. They were appropriate when they were crafted, but they are no longer appropriate now, so that framework needs to change.

“We are not challenged or constrained with the sector policy. We are operating within it now. However, I think for the benefit of the entire sector, whether it is us or Cable Bahamas or any other potential entrants, it’s important that the new government issue its own sector policy that will speak to the kind of dynamism and the pace of competition in the sector. We believe it would provide a lot of clarity as well as transparency, and allow all operators to get in.”

Mr Johnson said a regulatory framework needed to enable competition in a fair and transparent way. “We believe that we need to look at how we deal with things like Significant Market Power and how we define that,” he added.

“We have to look at where we have the areas of the country where we have a Universal Service Obligation, and that’s in some of the most remote areas where it is not economical to us, but we run because of our license obligation, which we are fine with but, again, we have to ask ourselves whether all the players in the marketplace are playing by the same set of rules.

“We have to ask whether all operators are required to do the same sort of things if they have a market dominant position, and if the sector itself is bearing the weight of obligations fairly and equitably. We believe that four years is the point where we stop to see if the enabling environment is such that it will allow us to really take the sector where it needs to go.”

Mr Johnson argued that BTC should not have to apply to the regulator every time it wanted to run a promotion, regardless of how long this would last.

“We have a wonderful working relationship with URCA, and we believe they have been very accommodating. I’m not suggesting they are doing anything untoward or overstepping their boundaries. They are bound to the rules in place, and the rules need to change. URCA is doing a good job but we do need to change the rules, and that would allow them to engage us and the rest of the market place much differently,” said Mr Johnson.