Irish vs British in Digicel TSTT Spat

Friday, October 20 2006 @ 09:20 AM AST

Only Sunday, a relative was telling me that buying a Digicel phone was the worst thing I could do. Why? He said the calls just don't connect. He blamed Digicel. Digicel as a result of dissatisfied customers like him may actually be losing clients because TSTT still maintains the monopoly on landlines and hasn't ceded much ground to Digicel in the mobile market either. Rarely do you meet someone who has just a Digicel phone. Most people have either bmobile alone or bmobile and Digicel.

What's beneath all of this ought really to be investigated because it could very well be Irish vs British. Digicel is owned by Irishman Denis O'Brien and TSTT is owned 49% by Cable & Wireless, a British company.

Reading the Express story by Roxanne Stapleton below could lead one to believe that this fight is really between Digicel and Cable & Wireless:

WARRING mobile service providers Digicel and TSTT have squared off in yet another vicious battle, as Digicel has accused TSTT of deliberately blocking its calls.

TSTT on the other hand, vehemently denied that calls are being blocked.

Digicel Trinidad and Tobago CEO, Kevin White, in a news conference yesterday at his company's Newtown, Port of Spain headquarters, said that they have "evidence verified by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) that suggests since their launch that TSTT has been deliberately making it very difficult for Digicel customers to make connections with TSTT fixed and mobile numbers by blocking calls".

TATT responding to White's claims, admitted to its own investigations, stating: "The investigations conducted by engineers from the Authority revealed that the call completion rate was unacceptably low for calls from Digicel to TSTT's fixed and mobile networks."

TATT also said it has written to TSTT, bringing the complaint to their attention and highlighted that the matter was of critical importance.

Furthermore, White maintained that calls on the Digicel network are "working perfectly", adding that there is absolutely no congestion on Digicel's network.

"By stopping calls from their competitor, we believe TSTT is sending another clear signal that they do not support competition and will do everything in their power to prevent the development of a healthy, competitive and vibrant telecommunications industry in Trinidad and Tobago," White said.

But TSTT refuting the blockage allegations, suggested that its hands are clean regarding the issue, stressing: "TSTT categorically denies claims that it has been preventing Digicel's customers from making calls to TSTT fixed line or bmobile customers.

"TSTT has, at every juncture, facilitated the Government's policy for liberalising the local telecom market even in the absence of an interconnect agreement-therefore claims that TSTT would now wilfully frustrate a process that it has actively helped shape and support are wholly misguided."

TSTT said that remarks from Digicel's officials serve no purpose other than to distract others from the fact that after two months, Digicel continues to resist the conclusion of an interconnection agreement.

However, Digicel's Group Interconnect director, Kevin Barrins insisted that the law doesn't speak of interconnection agreements, but it requires that calls are let through.

"The interconnect agreement and the disputes we've had about interconnect agreement is an issue between two corporations, it has nothing to do with our obligations under the law for providing services to each other," Barrins noted.

He called on Government to exercise its 51 per cent shareholding, as this issue is of national importance, echoing his CEO's sentiments that it is linked to the security of the country's citizenry, business climate and Government operations.

On the heated interconnection issue, Barrins added: "I've been to interconnection meetings here in Trinidad for the last 12 months-who do I meet at the door when I go into those meetings?

"It's not people who work for TSTT, the vast majority of the people I've met are Cable and Wireless employees coming from other countries, that fly in and out for the day.

"Now, Cable and Wireless are only a 49 per cent shareholder-it's time that Government exercise its 51 per cent shareholding."

Of the 21 territories in which they operate, the Digicel officials said they have never seen such unfair play.

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