Something of this magnitude should be left in the hands of the people to decide whether if they want to see their phone company privatize. No one person should say whether we should sell or not, because at the end of the day whatever decision is made, we the people have to live with it, bad or good. The telephone company dose'nt belong to HI or Mr symonette or the FNM government. It belongs to the Bahamian people. Privatization dose'nt necessarily means better, it may end up being the worst decision the FNM could make. So why not come to the people in a referendum to decide

Something of this magnitude should be left in the hands of the people to decide whether if they want to see their phone company privatize. No one person should say whether we should sell or not, because at the end of the day whatever decision is made, we the people have to live with it, bad or good. The telephone company dose'nt belong to HI or Mr symonette or the FNM government. It belongs to the Bahamian people. Privatization dose'nt necessarily means better, it may end up being the worst decision the FNM could make. So why not come to the people in a referendum to decide

The reason to privatise is a good one. Subject matter experts agree that BTC is poorly run in the extreme. BTC paid $30 million for CDMA assets that it does not use, and could generate substantial revenue with roaming charges. Think of the hundreds of thousands of boat passengers who get off the ship and turn on the cell phone to find out that it does not work.

BTC has failed on the internet side, and turned off their WAP proxy (internet over cell phones) because they didn't know how to operate it. SMS text message is spotty, and hitting capacity because they do not know how to use it. If you send a text message, you have to put in the 242 because they are idjits at configuring the system.

The BTC corporation is riddled with corruption. There is such a lack of technical expertise, that they farm out almost everything, with senior executives taking big cuts of the action in the most corrupt way. Their cost of sales is so high because of the corruption.

On top of that, for example their post-paid solutions are run by a company who manage the data offshore, and BTC has no way of knowing if they are getting all of the revenue or not. The same goes for their regular billing system -- it is all done by foreigners because of the lack of know-how.

On top of that, BTC is in the dark ages. Upper management is afraid of new technology, hence they are still committed to landlines.

Because BTC is so inefficient and corrupt, we have the highest toll charges and telephone bills for a system that is not robust. This is a huge inhibitor of the economy. Call centers do not want to move here because of the poor quality of service and the high cost. This effects the economy. The new chairman has gone on the record as saying that if BTC were privatized 10 years ago, we would have a different Bahamas.

Anyone with half an ounce of business sense or technology know how, will tell you that BTC NEEDS to be privatized.

The reason to privatise is a good one. Subject matter experts agree that BTC is poorly run in the extreme. BTC paid $30 million for CDMA assets that it does not use, and could generate substantial revenue with roaming charges. Think of the hundreds of thousands of boat passengers who get off the ship and turn on the cell phone to find out that it does not work.
BTC has failed on the internet side, and turned off their WAP proxy (internet over cell phones) because they didn't know how to operate it. SMS text message is spotty, and hitting capacity because they do not know how to use it. If you send a text message, you have to put in the 242 because they are idjits at configuring the system.
The BTC corporation is riddled with corruption. There is such a lack of technical expertise, that they farm out almost everything, with senior executives taking big cuts of the action in the most corrupt way. Their cost of sales is so high because of the corruption.
On top of that, for example their post-paid solutions are run by a company who manage the data offshore, and BTC has no way of knowing if they are getting all of the revenue or not. The same goes for their regular billing system -- it is all done by foreigners because of the lack of know-how.
On top of that, BTC is in the dark ages. Upper management is afraid of new technology, hence they are still committed to landlines.
Because BTC is so inefficient and corrupt, we have the highest toll charges and telephone bills for a system that is not robust. This is a huge inhibitor of the economy. Call centers do not want to move here because of the poor quality of service and the high cost. This effects the economy. The new chairman has gone on the record as saying that if BTC were privatized 10 years ago, we would have a different Bahamas.
Anyone with half an ounce of business sense or technology know how, will tell you that BTC NEEDS to be privatized.The BTC corporation is riddled with corruption. There is such a lack of technical expertise, that they farm out almost everything, with senior executives taking big cuts of the action I don't want to respond to something i don't have the facts to. But BTC is one of the most profitable government cooperation.

[QUOTE=Lurker;216702]The reason to privatise is a good one. Subject matter experts agree that BTC is poorly run in the extreme. BTC paid $30 million for CDMA assets that it does not use, and could generate substantial revenue with roaming charges. Think of the hundreds of thousands of boat passengers who get off the ship and turn on the cell phone to find out that it does not work.
BTC has failed on the internet side, and turned off their WAP proxy (internet over cell phones) because they didn't know how to operate it. SMS text message is spotty, and hitting capacity because they do not know how to use it. If you send a text message, you have to put in the 242 because they are idjits at configuring the system.
The BTC corporation is riddled with corruption. There is such a lack of technical expertise, that they farm out almost everything, with senior executives taking big cuts of the action in the most corrupt way. Their cost of sales is so high because of the corruption.
On top of that, for example their post-paid solutions are run by a company who manage the data offshore, and BTC has no way of knowing if they are getting all of the revenue or not. The same goes for their regular billing system -- it is all done by foreigners because of the lack of know-how.
On top of that, BTC is in the dark ages. Upper management is afraid of new technology, hence they are still committed to landlines.
Because BTC is so inefficient and corrupt, we have the highest toll charges and telephone bills for a system that is not robust. This is a huge inhibitor of the economy. Call centers do not want to move here because of the poor quality of service and the high cost. This effects the economy. The new chairman has gone on the record as saying that if BTC were privatized 10 years ago, we would have a different Bahamas.
Anyone with half an ounce of business sense or technology know how, will tell you that BTC NEEDS to be privatized.[/QUOTE} HI may even be trying to sell batelco to he son in law them who own cable Bahamas.

HI may even be trying to sell batelco to he son in law them who own cable Bahamas.

Actually I know dems at Cable Bahamas. The shyster in charge was Phil Keeping, a rascally Canadian who played a shell game with companies like Columbus etc, and he said that he sold all his shares, but how come his bum boy Brendan Paddick still in charge?

I don't want to respond to something i don't have the facts to. But BTC is one of the most profitable government cooperation.

Because its an essential element to every day life and business.

Imagine what it would contribute to the government coffers if it had been run properly, updated consistantly and modernized with the times.

To bring BTC to the leading edge requires that it be privatized. When governments run businesses, it only benefits the individuals appointed to run it by the gov't. The people suffer, the majority of employees suffer and therefore the country suffers.

Now before you start anti-FNMing again, I really and truely believe that the diligence performed on the acquiring entity must be excruciatingly detailed. We can't afford to have a new buyer quickly implode with the only means of commmunication in the Bahamas. We can't afford another Driftwood / Royal Oasis scenario.

Any heads of agreement should be tabled for the public to see, but I don't think anyone needs to vote on it. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of residents and citizens agree that BTC sucks big time!

Anyone think BTC is the best thing sinced sliced bread? Speak up now...

























didn't think so

.....BTC paid $30 million for CDMA assets that it does not use, and could generate substantial revenue with roaming charges. Think of the hundreds of thousands of boat passengers who get off the ship and turn on the cell phone to find out that it does not work....

.....BTC has failed on the internet side, and turned off their WAP proxy (internet over cell phones) because they didn't know how to operate it....

Lurker: What are you talking about?

I'm surfing the internet as we speak using my CDMA Sierra Wireless Air Card in Freeport. My sister also uses her CDMA phone whenever she visits from the U.S. without problem. BTC gets CDMA roaming revenue regularly from its wireless partners. I forget how many $$$ were generated last year, but it was in a news story from one of the Chamber of Commerce meetings.....wasn't no small amount of money either.

In addition wap.btcbahamas.com is alive and well. I use it daily on my iPhone ( ;) ) to surf the internet with my BTC Edge data card when I'm not near a WiFi hotspot.

You don't know how to configure your devices hey? How come I can get WAP/CDMA to work right here in the Bahamas and you can't?

Something of this magnitude should be left in the hands of the people to decide whether if they want to see their phone company privatize. No one person should say whether we should sell or not, because at the end of the day whatever decision is made, we the people have to live with it, bad or good. The telephone company dose'nt belong to HI or Mr symonette or the FNM government. It belongs to the Bahamian people. Privatization dose'nt necessarily means better, it may end up being the worst decision the FNM could make. So why not come to the people in a referendum to decide

Nature, the PLP promised to sell BTC before the election and then tried to pulled off a secret sale deal that was hidden from view of the Bahamian people like all of the other secret deals (heads of agreements) that they made while in office. None of the agreements, including the plot to sell BTC on credit, were brought to the attention Bahamian people by this "consultative" PLP government.

You've been a long standing, well-informed, committed member and commentator of BahamasIssues.com. It would be good if you could produce similar statements like the one in your post regarding your stated view on this subject from elsewhere on this site particularly during the former government's tenure in office. Otherwise, intelligent readers, like me, would have to regard your contribution as strictly politically motivated and lacking merit.

Lurker: What are you talking about?
I'm surfing the internet as we speak using my CDMA Sierra Wireless Air Card in Freeport. My sister also uses her CDMA phone whenever she visits from the U.S. without problem. BTC gets CDMA roaming revenue regularly from its wireless partners. I forget how much $$ were generated last year, but it was in a news story from one of the Chamber of Commerce meetings.....wasn't no small amount of money either.
In addition wap.btcbahamas.com is alive and well. I use it daily on my iPhone ( ;) ) to surf the internet with my BTC Edge data card when I'm not near a WiFi hotspot.
You don't know how to configure your devices hey? How come I can get WAP/CDMA to work right here in the Bahamas and you can't?

Leon Williams hisseff told me that they had to turn off the WAP proxy because dems was getting too much spam across it. And call BTC and ask about SMS -- they will tell you that they are upgrading their platform and it won't be ready for another 4-6 weeks. The project is being led by a senior woman at BTC named Dawkins.

Just to clarify SMS still works but it is almost useless with dropped messages etc or long delivery delays.

Leon Williams hisseff told me that they had to turn off the WAP proxy because dems was getting too much spam across it.....

Leon Williams told me that himself too that WAP was only turned off for the non-paying GSM/GPRS test customers NOT the the paying data customers like myself, that's why mine is still on :) . WAP and CDMA are working so don't say they're not. If we're going to try to educate others let's get it right. Facts not fiction ok?

(APN = wap.btcbahamas.com / Username = test / Password = test)

Now SMS......that's another sad story :)

Leon Williams told me that himself too that WAP was only turned off for the non-paying GSM/GPRS test customers NOT the the paying data customers like myself, that's why mine is still on :) . WAP and CDMA are working so don't say they're not. If we're going to try to educate others let's get it right. Facts not fiction ok?
(APN = wap.btcbahamas.com / Username = test / Password = test)
Now SMS......that's another sad story :)

I stand corrected.

Is privatization the only way to improve service / expand technology?

Some how I get a bad feeling cost will go through the roof.

Just wondering if there isn't a bit of tunnel vision here?


:dgi:

Is privatization the only way to improve service / expand technology?
Some how I get a bad feeling cost will go through the roof.
Just wondering if there isn't a bit of tunnel vision here?
:dgi:

BTC has about 500 too many people in the wrong places. For heaven's sake there are 18 vice presidents. Their cost of sales was $400 million at last report. I'd like to know where da phocque that money is going !!!!

BTC has about 500 too many people in the wrong places. For heaven's sake there are 18 vice presidents. Their cost of sales was $400 million at last report. I'd like to know where da phocque that money is going !!!!


18!!!

Lurker, PLEASE tell me you are exagerating!

Instead dey hire linemen and tech guys ta run fiber ta da Out Island dem jickarses is hirin' Vepees ta sit upin dem aircondoo offices waisen' current in Nassau.

*BIG TIME SUCK TEETH* :gi: