The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

CELL phone users should brace themselves for widespread service blackouts this summer as the Bahamas Telecommunications Company rolls out a brand new cellular network.

Paired with a new texting and prepaid billing platform, Brand and Communications vice president Marlon Johnson said the scheduled upgrades represent the company's "final push" to oust dated legacy equipment and ready itself for the impending liberalization of the sector.

Customers are advised to create a contingency plan to pre-empt any potential issues that may arise from disruptions to service, Mr Johnson said in an interview with The Tribune yesterday.

"We're not saying you won't have access to your cellphone, but we want to make sure that you take the necessary steps to do as much as you can to ensure you know where the landlines are and that folks know where you are."

Mr Johnson said: "You should make the assumption that there may be an issue with the network.

"Persons should be aware that 'if I go out in the night, I may have access to my cellphone, I may not, people need to know where I'm at', so they can pre-plan and set times accordingly."

The crossover from the existing Nortel 2G network to an Ericson platform will begin on New Providence in June, and will have to be replicated in all the Family Islands.

Chronic issues affecting customers will be exasperated during the migration period with "tremendous improvement" to voice quality, call drop performance, and texting success rates by the end of summer.

"Each island," said Mr Johnson, "will have some periods, and we will update the public when there will be specific outages or where we believe there will be specific degradation in service."

"The best analogy I can think of is doing open heart surgery while the patient is awake," he added.

"Because we can't shut down the network and say give us a week.

"We're doing all we can to make it as painless as possible, but we're also realistic to understand that people may see call drops, call failures, delayed texts, and the like as it settles."

The majority of BTC customers use 2G handsets, according to Mr Johnson, who explained that the crossover to the Ericson platform was necessary to streamline the network, which supports the majority of voice traffic for customers, and ensures phone compatibility.

He added that the company will create a dedicated email address for customers to send specific feedback that will assist in the optimization process.

BTC has opened seven of 15 flagship stores, and has started creating the governing framework to allow for another 35 franchised businesses over the next two years.

With the advent of a second mobile operator in 2014, Mr Johnson said the company was poised to stand up to new and enhanced competition.

"You're going to see a lot more from us addressing the pricing and value issues that customers face," he said.

"We hear the customer, and we understand. We gotta prepare the business both from a cost standpoint, making sure we run the business as efficiently as possible, and certainly that will then give us the helm to be able to address some of the pricing concerns and still remain a profitable entity."

"We have to do two things," he said, "make sure we provide value to the customers and have stellar customer service, and that we manage the business efficiently.

"We do those things we feel comfortable that we're going to be competitive, and we welcome the competition.

"We want to put the power back in the hands of the customer."