The Tribune

BY ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) plans to expand its BTC Air fixed wireless broadband service to Cat Island, parts of Exuma, and Andros as the telecommunications provider pushes ahead with efforts to improve internet connectivity across the Family Islands.

Speaking on the company’s broadband strategy, BTC chief executive Sameer Bhatti said the three islands have been identified as the next markets for deployment following ongoing rollouts in Bimini and Eleuthera.

“We have a number of other islands that we have earmarked including Cat Island, including parts of Exuma and Andros. Those are the next three that we have earmarked that we’re going to roll into,” Mr Bhatti said.

The expansion forms part of BTC’s strategy to bridge connectivity gaps between New Providence and the Family Islands by using fixed wireless technology rather than relying solely on traditional fibre infrastructure.

Mr Bhatti said the company has already completed the rollout of BTC Air in Bimini and has begun retiring its legacy corporate network there. Meanwhile, deployment in Eleuthera is well advanced.

“We’ve completely rolled out Bimini BTC Air, and we shut down our corporate network,” he said. “We are well along the way in Eleuthera in rolling out BTC Air.”

He argued that consumers increasingly prioritise data services, making broadband access the foundation of modern telecommunications.

“You think about your mobile phone in your pocket, you rely on the data. Whether gigabyte allotment or your socials, you rely on data first. And particularly when you’re home, you rely on data first,” he said. “Data is the source of all of your use cases.”

According to Mr Bhatti, BTC Air is designed to deliver what he described as “tech equity” by providing Family Island residents with internet capabilities comparable to those available in New Providence and Grand Bahama.

“The same kind of capabilities you can expect here in New Providence, with our gold standard, our fibre product, you can get the same capabilities if it’s broadband only, or if it’s triple play,” he said.

BTC Air utilises next-generation fixed wireless access technology that connects homes to telecommunications towers using dedicated spectrum separate from the company’s mobile network.

Mr Bhatti explained that the service employs tower-based base nodes and receivers installed at customer homes to create a wireless connection for the final segment of the network.

“This is a next generation fixed wireless access, and it uses a different spectrum from your mobile spectrum,” he said. “So it does not consume the bandwidth that you have for mobile calls,” he said.

The wireless connection covers what he referred to as the “last mile” between the tower and the home.

“So, this is a next generation fixed wireless access, and it uses a different spectrum from your mobile spectrum,” he said. “So it does not consume the bandwidth that you have for mobile calls. This is a totally different spectrum. Actually, it's shared with the Wi-Fi spectrum. It includes a base node on our towers and remote nodes that we install on the side of your home.

“And so it's a wireless last mile connection from the tower to the home. And then from that point in the home inside to your gateway, your router, your TV setup boxes, it's all the same as your fibre connection, all the same gear. So that's where we bring tech equity. The difference is that last mile between the tower and the home. That's what's wireless.

Mr Bhatti added: “We think the combination that we have of fibre, particularly in New Providence and Grand Bahama, and BTC Air, as we roll into the Family Islands, is the right complement of technologies, given the archipelagic nature of our country.”