The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) can more than double the annual number of new homes using the latest network technology if its owner is enticed to increase investment.

Andre Foster, BTC’s newly-appointed chief executive, told Tribune Business yesterday that the carrier “could easily” connect 15,000-20,00 homes per annum to its fibre-to-the-home technology, as opposed to the present 5,000-6,000 conversion rate, if Liberty Latin America (LiLAC) provided the necessary financing.

Asserting that Liberty Latin America had given notice of its keenness to “invest more in The Bahamas” via BTC, Mr Foster said incentives - particularly import duty waivers on the expensive telecommunications network equipment required - were essential to give its parent confidence it would achieve the desired returns.

Agreeing that such incentives, if approved, should also be granted to BTC’s Cable Bahamas/Aliv rivals so that they jointly “keep The Bahamas at the top of the telecommunications industry”, Mr Foster acknowledged that COVID-19’s devastating impact on the government’s revenues meant such requests for tax breaks will likely not be entertained” for some time.

Transitioning BTC subscribers from its legacy copper-based systems, and improving their TV and broadband internet experience, remains a core priority for the new chief executive as he seeks to connect its fibre-to-the-home technology to more than the 48,000-49,000 homes it currently passes.

“The telecommunications industry moves so quickly that no provider can sit idle,” Mr Foster told this newspaper. “We continue to focus very heavily on how we can improve the network footprint to start to move away from some of the legacy technology as we invest in fibre-to-the-home. We continue to chip away at that.”

BTC plans to connect 3,000 homes to its new network technology during the 2021 first quarter, which finishes at month’s end. Among the areas being targeted are Westridge and Carmichael in New Providence, mainland Exuma as well as Black Point and Staniel Cay, as well as properties in Grand Bahama.

“Our focus is to get as much of the new build-out done in the first half of the year,” Mr Foster explained. “If we show our ability to execute on the new build and get subscribers to move over to the new network and services, it encourages fresh investment in The Bahamas.

“That’s always been good for us; to get the build done quickly and get subscribers to move over to it.” He added that removing and replacing BTC’s legacy copper network creates substantial maintenance cost savings for the carrier.

“It’s quite drastic,” Mr Foster said. “I would say we would measure anywhere from 45 percent efficiency in maintenance costs. Our network here in The Bahamas is very old, and a good portion of it - because it is underground with a lot of manholes - fills with water that degrades the cable piers. We spend a lot of time patching, patching.”

Revealing that BTC technicians sometimes have to re-splice 1,200 copper pieces as a result, he added that the carrier has also been selling-off the copper recovered as it switches consumers to fibre-to-the-home.

“We’re focused this year on getting in front of 5,000 to 8,000 homes,” Mr Foster told this newspaper on the new network roll-out, “but we feel we have the appetite from the parent to do a lot more as we’re trying to work throughout the archipelago.

“We’re slightly under the 50,000 mark. We’re probably getting close to 48,000 to 49,000 homes built-out in The Bahamas, and when you look at the archipelago and the last census, there are about 120,000 homes. We’re in the 40-ish percentile. Our approach is to do 5,000 to 6,000 households per annum. That gives you the road map” for how long a total roll-out will take.

However, he quickly added that if BTC would be “able to execute faster” if it received greater investment from Liberty Latin America. “Our chief executive, Balan Nair, has made clear he’s eager to invest more in The Bahamas there are things that make investment less attractive, like import duties on this gear,” Mr Foster explained.

“We’ve openly said that if we get duty concessions will invest faster and accelerate that build-out.... We could easily do 15,000 to 20,000 homes a year if we had the funding. Certainly our goal is to do at least 6,000 homes per annum, and if we get additional funding we can do up to 20,000.”

Mr Foster did not disclose a dollar figure for how much investment Liberty Latin America and BTC might consider if they secured the tax breaks they are seeking, but added: “We’ve had very meaningful discussions with the Government.

“We see this as a benefit for the country as a whole. We said that if you give it to us, give it to the competitor. Let them enjoy the same benefits to upgrade their network so it keeps The Bahamas at the top of the telecommunications industry with the latest technology and fastest capacity.”

Still, he agreed that COVID-19’s fall-out likely means none of the tax breaks sought will be forthcoming for now. “We totally understand that’s a discussion that might need a bit more economic recovery before they entertain it,” Mr Foster added.