The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL providers are interested in entering the Bahamas’ mobile phone market and are making preparations to compete with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company in the lead up to the official granting of a new cellular provider licence, Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday.

Mr Christie told reporters that while he would like to introduce a competitor to the market as soon as possible, it could happen within a year.

“(There is) an English company connected to a Bahamian company, there is Cable Bahamas, Digicel, there is Virgin (Mobile),” Mr Christie said when asked about companies interested in competing against BTC’s mobile phone service.

“But we wouldn’t really know until we publish the request for proposals because there are no American companies yet and I know that they have been interested.

“But I am told that a lot of effort is going on now where all of these companies who are vying to be the winning bidder, they are doing all of the necessary work to compete with BTC.

“You are going to have to come with a programme that talks about how you are going to cover the Bahamas. So that is going to be the challenge.”

As it stands, Mr Christie said the government can only award one licence but in 2016, a third company can bid and enter the market if officials feel the industry can sustain more competition.

“The rule what we are governed by is that we can now provide one (competitor) and so there is going to be an auction.

“First an assessment that people who apply are qualified to go forward and then there will be an auction that will be superintended by Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) I believe.

“The combination of URCA and the (liberalisation) task force will produce one successful bidder and that successful bidder will be one who would have gotten that cellular contract. By 2016 we will be able to do a third if we feel the market justifies it.

“So that’s what will govern us but the most important thing for me is to try to get competition and as quickly as possible even though we are 49 per cent shareholders.”

“I have set a time frame and most certainly I wanted it within a year and so I think that when the task force makes the announcement you can count six months from then,” Mr Christie said.