The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company plans to offer superior television services for less the price than what is offered by Cable Bahamas, BTC CEO Leon Williams said yesterday.

BTC intends to begin offering its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) this year – first in Bimini on December 10, then Inagua and gradually throughout the archipelago.

New Providence will be the last to receive the service, Mr Williams said, calling the island the “final battleground” where the company will finish “dotting its I’s and T’s to do war”.

His comments came during a press conference at Island House yesterday where he touted BTC’s charity, innovation and commitment to providing services throughout the Bahamas – including on islands where the company does not break even.

In a dig at rival company Cable Bahamas, he said: “In your lifetime, the investments made down in those islands will never be replicated… even when it comes to liberalisation, we are not going to let somebody come and cherry pick us in New Providence, in Grand Bahama, and Abaco…. you know how I know? Because there has been a company operating in The Bahamas for 20 years, and they have not done it.”

Among the most impressive features of its IPTV is its Flow ToGo service, which would allow people to watch television on their mobile phone throughout the country.

In addition to cloud services, the IPTV would also allow people to record shows and rewind or fast-forward shows in real time.

BTC will become the first company in the country to offer fibre to the home (FTTH) services, thereby delivering communications signals over optical fibres through a home or business, replacing existing infrastructures.

This would give customers enhanced broadband services, among other things, officials said.

BTC has allocated $75 million in the present fiscal year to capital development, which, among other things, includes investments in television services and infrastructure.

As for Liberty Global, the company that has acquired BTC’s parent company Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), Mr Williams said it’s too early to say what this move will mean for BTC, noting that talks are continuing.