The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Communications woes are threatening to “crush” Exuma’s economy, with the island’s business community urging the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to fix a situation becoming “increasingly worse”.

The situation is said to have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being lost by Exuma businesses, due to cancellations and the inability to process credit card payments.

The Exuma Chamber of Commerce, in an August 5, 2016, letter to BTC chief executive, Leon Williams, said residents “for quite some time” have been suffering from “extremely poor” telecommunications services.

“While the overall service has been poor and inconsistent at best, the real challenge, faced on a daily and ongoing basis, is the lack of acceptable Internet access,” the Chamber said.

“Residents and businesses have, over a period of time, and on many occasions, expressed their concerns and level of frustration about same, both to the local office as well as headquarters. Promises have been offered and made for better service, but to-date there have been no improvements and, in fact, services have become increasingly worse with more users being added each month.”

The Chamber said developments such as the pending new Exuma International Airport; the November opening of a five-star resort on Stocking Island; the February Point development; and the $200 million eco-friendly resort project set for the Exuma Cays demand a complete overhaul of the island’s communications infrastructure and needs.

“Exumians are not asking for modern day conveniences – just modern day globally-acceptable necessities in terms of communications,” the Chamber said.

“The current business model being employed by BTC in Exuma, of charging their customers for services they know they cannot deliver, is both unethical and illegal. If BTC is not prepared to invest in Exuma, we believe a public statement should be made to that effect and immediate options should be considered for providing acceptable, modern-day Internet to the residents of Exuma.”     

Stephen Miller, the local government representative for Staniel Cay, said he along with a group of concerned citizens had also written to BTC, lodging a formal complaint over the problems. 

“We actually sent out some letters lodging official complaints to BTC about maybe two weeks ago,” he said. “We wanted to get a response from BTC to at least let us know that they are trying to rectify the service in the cays.

“For the past several months we have been having outages. Even before that the service was sporadic, where even when you were getting service it was not of any quality- a lot of dropped calls, and sometimes the Internet is up and down.

“There are times the services are down for two to three days; no phone, no Internet, no communications with the outside world. That’s how it has been for the past couple of months. We were out for three to five days a few days ago,” he added.

“We need better service because we are paying our money like anyone else. This situation has created a lot of challenges, not only for residents but businesses in the cays. You’re not getting the service you are supposed to get, and then you’re not getting any compensation for all of these disruptions.”

Mr Miller continued: “We want a response from BTC to at least let us know that they are doing something; just let us know. They should be aware that we are having these problems because they have to send people in to correct them. The telephone and Internet service is terrible.

“Most of the businesses rely on the Internet for their credit card machines. A lot of money is being lost because of this. People have had to cancel trips here because we have a lot of dignitaries and executives who come over, and they have to stay in contact with their offices back home.

“The service here, this year in particular, has been horrendous. I have never seen the service this bad. This area is buzzing and busy. If there is more strain on the system because of that, then whatever needs to be done we plead with them to do it.”

Another concerned resident told Tribune Business via e-mail: “BTC has failed us (Internet and phones) since late May. Even when the system is fully operational, which is sluggish at best,  we are experiencing intermittent outages of both services that last several days at a time.

“Bahamian customers and business owners are forced to use cellular data (if that even works) just to continue to do business. This is economically crushing us out here.”

    Grant Anderson, general manager at the Sandals-owned Fowl Cay, told Tribune Business: “The BTC network issues have caused a negative impact on both our operation and the quality of service that we offer to our guests.

“The phone and data services are inconsistent and can go out for days at a time. While our guests come to the islands to disconnect, the need to be in a position to stay in touch with their business interests, family and loved ones.”

A petition has also been launched over the issue, garnering roughly 300 signatures. “We as signatories reach out to you to express our united opinion in your failure to render marketed communication services, as purchased, to the Central Exumas, and specifically, Farmers Cay, Great Guana Cay and the Black Point Settlement, Staniel Cay and the surrounding Cays,” the online petition said.

“I’ve decreased the amount of time I spend at my home on Staniel Cay over the past few years as essential services become more and more undependable,” said one petitioner.

Another noted: “We must have cell and Internet connection while visiting the Exumas because we conduct business while cruising. Because of the poor and undependable service, we have curtailed our cruises to the Exumas until better service is available.”

Another petitioner said: “The service that BTC is providing us in the central Exumas is unacceptable. I have experienced up to three days with no communication whatsoever. This is not only appalling; it is dangerous.”

Inquiries on the matter by Tribune Business were acknowledged by BTC representatives yesterday, but no formal response was forthcoming up to press time yesterday.