The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said BTC “dropped the ball” for the Marco’s Alert system, the company released a statement saying it is committed to working with the government to deliver on its objectives as outlined in its ten-point plan.

BTC also noted that its representatives had a recent meeting with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and have requested a meeting to discuss the concerns raised by Mr Munroe on the implementation of Marco’s Alert at the Office of the Prime Minister press briefing on Thursday.

However, the company noted “serious data privacy concerns” have been raised regarding how much information the system will access from BTC’s network.

“BTC has been in constant communication with the RBPF and the third-party communications provider to determine how its systems would be integrated with the RBPF and the third-party communications provider to deliver the Marco’s Alert SMS service. BTC has on numerous occasions as far back as July 2021, requested specific details on this integration and implementation process. Serious data privacy concerns have been raised specifically around how much information this system will be able to access from BTC’s network,” according to BTC’s statement.

“BTC has requested terms and conditions guiding this partnership to deliver Marco’s Alert, but to date, these have not been provided. BTC cannot enter into an agreement with any entity without first having a clear understanding of the expectations and implications for its customers. As BTC understands, there is no finalized agreement with any telecommunications provider. BTC hopes to meet with the minister of national security to discuss this matter in detail at his earliest convenience.”

Mr Munroe announced that the MARCO Alert System will be tested on Aliv’s network on Monday.

“I’m distressed to advise that we have two telephone companies in this country that provide mobile service — namely Aliv and BTC,” he said on Thursday.

“The system of a Marco’s Alert system will be tested on the 15th of November which is Monday, but BTC has completely and utterly dropped the ball.

“They do not have the ability for the alerts to be sent out over their system.

“If they do not remedy it, it will certainly be my suggestion that anybody who wants to participate in MARCO’s Alert will have to make a choice as to their mobile phone provider. I would challenge BTC not to cause me to tell people to switch over to Aliv in order to make Marco’s Alert work.

“They had sufficient time. I don’t intend to be patient with them.”