Guyana Telephone, Digicel receive telecom liberalization bill

The CEOs of both Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and Digicel have received copies of the government's proposed telecom liberalization bill: The Telecommunications Bill 2010.

When finalized, the bill will be sent to Guyana's National Assembly for assent, thus creating a path for the liberalization of the South American country's telecom industry.

A draft of the bill which was completed last week, as reported in Stabroek Business, proposes ending GT&T's monopoly of the country's voice and data market, in addition to addressing administration of spectrum management regulations, regulations governing interconnection and access, competition, consumer protection, pricing and frequency authorization regulations. What's more, the draft legislation covers amendments to Guyana's 1999 Public Utilities Commission Act.

GT&T's CEO Yog Mahadeo and Digicel's CEO Gregory Deane, which both expressed their support of the proposed legislation, have 16 days to examine the draft bill and respond with comments.

For more:
- Stabroeck News has this article

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