At the commissioning of the GT&T cellular and land line facilities at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, he suggested that the government would have to give competitors a nudge to “level” with the company’s advantageous position in the market before even talking of competition.

As GT&T seeks to stave off competition from the Irish-owned Digicel, which has invested more than US$1.2B across the Caribbean, and plans to pour US$60M into Guyana with its acquisition of Cell*Star, Director of Sales and Marketing Mr. Michael George went on the offensive yesterday.

He said cellular competitors who tout that the mobile penetration is just above 20 per cent seek to “get some poor quality reject phones and dump them in Guyana, perhaps for free, and claim ‘Ah, we have increased penetration!’”

George claimed that mobile penetration is about 42 per cent “of every infant, man, woman, child, the elderly, dispossessed and remote inhabitant of our country.”

At its Guyana launching two Thursdays ago, Digicel claimed that the local market has great potential since the penetration level is at a mere 22 per cent.

Singh said he is due to meet his Digicel counterpart Mr. Colm Delves Monday, for talks on interconnectivity, quality of service and other issues.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, at yesterday’s commissioning, made clear that the government has had its problems with GT&T and suggested that if the company sees it cannot reach “voluntary” agreement with Digicel, it should move to an arbiter.

Singh said GT&T’s investment of some US$260M over the years is evidence of “investor confidence” but urged the government to further encourage this confidence by vouching for transparency and fairness in introducing competitors to the market.

The Prime Minister said the government’s main concern is to maximize the potential of telecommunications for the development of Guyana. He said the administration is interested in an open and competitive sector, which allows for job creation.

Mr. Hinds vowed that the government would be doing all it could to ensure that such an open and competitive market is in place in the near future.

The Land of Canaan cellular site brings to 42 the number of GSM sites for GT&T, with nine under construction and a further 12 slated to be completed by March 31, 2007.

The sites under construction are at Kingston, Georgetown; Fyrish and Bath in Berbice; Planters Hall, Ann’s Grove and Enterprise on the East Coast Demerara; Parika on the East Bank Essequibo, and Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni).

One of the key projects for GT&T is the new site to be constructed at the Providence Cricket Stadium, East Bank Demerara, to take off the demand of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.

Singh warned that the government and the Local Organising Committee of CWC need to move faster with decision making, pointing out that the timelines are well beyond the eleventh hour.

However, the company said it has invested in new support systems that will allow it to provide several services in advance of Guyana’s hosting of CWC 2007.

These include, George stated, per second billing, group billing packages, pre-paid roaming, periodic bonus incentives and two Cell sites On Wheels (COWs).

The COWs would mean that GT&T can move to high demand events, such as CWC, Mashramani and other mega events, and allow for clear cellular access, he said.

The Land of Canaan site assures seamless coverage from Georgetown to Timehri, and when the new sites to be constructed are completed next year it would mean, George said, “seamless coverage from Charity to Skeldon”.

He said GT&T will also be looking at other real possibilities in interior regions, besides its site at Mahdia.

The new landline network commissioned yesterday would serve the East Bank Demerara communities of Land of Canaan, Pearl, Brickery, Sarah Johanna, Caledonia, Relief, Supply, Support, and Goed Intent.

At Digicel’s launching, it boasted of choice, customer care, coverage and a wide range of services to offer to prospective customers. The services include Rollover (free transfer of unused bundled minutes from one month to the next); digiWORLD – worldwide mobile service; faxmail – receive and forward faxes; and Mobile E – send and receive emails.