The Tribune

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has unveiled the first of four Family Island retail stores that it will roll-out over the next two months.

The flagship store launch in Deadman’s Cay, Long Island, is the first in a series openings that will include for Harbour Island, Spanish Wells and Bimini.

The Deadman’s Cay store, which was previously a cashier and bill-pay station, offers a full menu of interactive mobile devices and customer assistance options. The layout is modelled after the style of flagship stores in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, and Exuma.

Leon Williams, BTC’s chief executive, said Deadman’s Cay was one of four Family Island stores opening over the next two months, demonstrating the company’s commitment to Family Island residents and businesses.

“Between 2002 and 2005, BTC spent $353 million on building infrastructure - $135 million to enable GSM phones, $66.1 million building the submarine cable, $34 million on DSL, and $23 million on a new billing system,” Mr Williams said.

“A couple of weeks ago I was able to convince the chairman, Philip Bentley, to give us $65 million, which is a lot in Trinidad, but in the Bahamas it is like taking a candle to a boiling ocean.”

Mr Williams then foreshadowed the coming BTC High Definition (HD) Internet Protocol Television (IP TV) test programme in the southern Bahamas.

“Next year, this time we want to have IP TV in Long Island, all the channels you want, in all of your homes 24/7,” he added.

“We will not test IP TV in Nassau. We will, in fact, start in Inagua and we will make sure all of the Family Islands have it before launching it in Nassau.”

Long Island MP, Loretta Butler-Turner, said: “I want to say thank you, BTC, for this giant leap of faith in the economy of Long Island.

“We are delighted because we have some of the brightest minds in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas here, and bright minds want to embrace new technology. We are a proud and industrious people, and we are always delighted when businesses are able to provide services crucial to progressing our way of life.”

She added: “A very sore point is not having effective television services here. So we hope that the BTC IP TV beta testing is done very quickly.

“Very soon, every Long Islanders will have the opportunity and the capacity to know what is going on, not just in our country but all around the world.”