The Tribune

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive says there “has always been” a relationship between the private and public sectors in the country’s communictions market.

Leon Williams, addressing attendees at a recent Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) conference, said public-private partnerships (PPPs) marry expertise and resources for the country’s benefit, pointing to several examples within Bahamian telecommunications history.

“There has always been a relationship between the public and private sectors in Bahamian Telecommunications,” he added. “Cable Beach got its name when, in 1892, the Government of the Bahamas joined with Marconi to build the country’s first telegraph cable from Jupiter Beach to Goodman’s Bay.

“More recently, in 2001, government gave Columbus Communications the concessions to land in the Bahamas and develop ARCOS, a submarine cable connecting 14 Caribbean countries to USA.”

Mr Williams said private companies are often limited by the constraints of profit margins and, with public assistance, projects can provide infrastructure in more egalitarian ways.

“Look at the BDSNi, a $70 million BTC project that connects the islands of the Bahamas to each other and to Haiti. Let it be known that everything south of Eleuthera is a cost centre, not a profit centre, and a private company couldn’t lay a cable that far south,” Mr Williams said.

“However, BTC’s service obligation by law is that BTC must provide public telecommunication services to any island settlement in the Bahamas that has 10 or more households.”

He added that public-private partnerships in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector could help close the digital divide, and provide a vehicle to address inequalities in the Bahamas.

“According to an IDB report on Latin America and the Caribbean in 2012, broadband is more expensive and less used in Caribbean countries than the global average,” Mr Williams said.

“The digital divide is stark within this region, particularly when comparing coverage in urban versus rural areas. Much of this is due to cost. The costs of implementing a single line of dial tone in Nassau is $470, whereas in San Salvador it is $4,200.

“It becomes a barrier to broadband development. The obstacles facing broadband development are so formidable that the private sector will not be able to face them alone. The OECD recommends governments adopt regulations to help reduce the cost of civil works needed to expand broadband networks.

“Even in the USA and Australia, most of the telecommunications networks, particularly the rural networks, are subsidised by the government. So there is a need for government to join with the private sector and provide leadership in initiatives to reduce not only the digital divide, but also to use digital means to narrow the socio-economic gap.”