The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SCATHING criticism from the government over the quality of mobile services has had little impact on the day-to-day operations at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, CEO Geoff Houston said yesterday.

The company remains focused on boosting capacity and managing customer expectations as it braces for a potential competitor next year, according to Mr Houston, who announced plans for a $20 million upgrade to its “world class” network.

Mr Houston explained that government negotiations to recover majority stake in BTC did not actively involve staff or himself, adding that it was his job to ensure that his team does not get too distracted by the ongoing dialogue over service quality and hints over the extension of the cellular market monopoly.

He said: “The discussion that is going on in the media is a shareholder discussion, that’s between CWC (Cable & Wireless Communications) and the government of the Bahamas, and its not a discussion that I’m actively involved in or anyone in BTC is actively involved in.

“Our focus at BTC is to continue on this journey of competing with the competitors that we have today and continuing to get ourselves ready for new competition coming into the market in the form of a new mobile player.”

He added: “[The upgrade] is going to provide more capacity more coverage and allow us to deploy the latest technology called LTE, which is faster than the 4G. So we’re on that journey and we’re not taking our eyes off the need to get more and more competitive here at BTC.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie and several other government ministers have publicly expressed disappointment over cellular service.

Last week, Mr Christie hinted that the government would be open to extending BTC’s cellular monopoly if CWC relinquished majority control of the company. On Monday, he denied opposition claims that a secret “deal” had already been made with BTC.

Yesterday, Mr Houston said the company’s latest investment is a direct response to the untapped demand for data service. He said: “I try to make sure my team doesn’t get too distracted by the conversation that is going on between the shareholders. We’re picking up business, starting to turn the corner in terms of getting more competitive. We’ve started rolling out a whole lot of franchised stores.

“We are starting to win back market share on our broadband, it has all the speed you need at a better price and that is really resonating with our new customers. Nothing’s really changed at BTC; we feel as though we are getting ourselves in much better shape, we still have a lot to do but we’re fully committed to that journey inside the company.”