The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Communications and Public Officers Union President Bernard Evans yesterday dismissed assertions that newcomer Aliv will steal a significant market share from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, charging that the former’s initial success is merely the result of “restrictions” placed on BTC by regulators to give Aliv “some advantage” to “get in the game”.

Mr Evans, in an interview with The Tribune, said that while Aliv may appear to be “the best thing since sliced cheese,” the Utilities Regulations and Competitions Authority (URCA) made it so that BTC would have to “maintain certain price levels” prior to Aliv’s entrance into the market, effectively preventing BTC from “doing a lot of things to stifle” Aliv’s entry as the country’s second mobile services provider.

This, Mr Evans said, was likely due to the government’s, as well as URCA’s, desire for Aliv to enter a market “conducive” for it to be able to “thrive”, adding that both URCA and the government are attempting to foster “competition” in the mobile services sector.

However, Mr Evans said the real measure of Aliv’s impact on BTC’s market share, as well as whether Aliv’s existence would prove detrimental to BTC’s mobile services, would come “once the gloves are off” and both entities are “allowed to compete head on,” which he surmised would take place within “a year or year-and-a-half”.

NewCo, Aliv’s operating company, was awarded the second mobile operator license in July of last year. The new mobile provider was tasked with achieving 99 per cent network population coverage in New Providence and 80 per cent population coverage in (Freeport) Grand Bahama, within three months of its license award.

URCA has already mandated that BTC allow Aliv to lease and utilise portions of its network infrastructure, until the latter completes construction of its own, so that competition can be brought more rapidly to Bahamians wherever they are living in The Bahamas.

“…URCA had to allow BTC to maintain certain price levels to allow Aliv to get in and underprice that so that it would encourage the entrant, and not to stifle them, because I don’t think they can compete giving the same prices and all that stuff,” Mr Evans told The Tribune.

“So I believe that BTC was held at a particular standard just to allow the new entrant to come in, because competition in the end is what the government is seeking, what URCA is seeking, and so it’s trying to create that atmosphere where you have a choice.

“And in doing so, it had to give some advantage to the new entrant to get in the game. So initially (it) may look like Aliv is the best thing since sliced cheese or whatever, but I think that was designed. But once the gloves are off and BTC is allowed to compete head on, I don’t see BTC feeling much hit from that.”

Mr Evans also said that Aliv’s immediate impact on BTC’s market share and losses in its mobile services will be “offset” by BTC’s emergence in the television business via Flo TV, as well as Aliv having yet to fully meet its nationwide coverage obligations.

“…Until Aliv is fully rolled out from Sweetings Cay in Grand Bahama to Mathew Town in Inagua, BTC wouldn’t feel the full brunt of it yet, even though this is the largest economic centre in the Bahamas, that being Nassau, and in Abaco and in Grand Bahama where they are,” he said.

“I’m not concerned but I’m sure people up at the top, the CEO, they have certain benchmarks and stuff to reach, and so they may be challenged,” he added. “But like I said, I think they’re offset somewhat by the introduction of Flow television. And so that’s a new revenue stream for BTC, and so hopefully that would offset any potential loss they would get from Aliv.

“But like (BTC CEO Leon Williams) keeps saying for the most part, that any new entrant you can expect full force to lose about 15-20 per cent of their market share to that new entrant. But I don’t see that happening just yet. It would be interesting to see the numbers after a year or year and a half to see what’s going on.

“…So there’s going to be a little bit of trade off, but I think BTC is going to be okay. Most people that I’ve seen, even though they have an Aliv phone still have a BTC phone, so hopefully that will be the status quo going forward.”