Georgetown: Several years after applying to the Government, and by extension the National Frequency Management Unity (NFMU), for its 3G/4G bandwidth licence, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is yet to receive any word on the status of the application.
While some Guyanese have access to Wireless Internet (WiFi) and are accustomed to getting high speed Internet connections at home, the office or even the local Internet café, once on the road, those high speeds have to stay behind.
With 3G and 4G bandwidth, the promise is that one can get real mobile broadband service while away from hotspots. Fourth-generation wireless (4G) is the stage of mobile communications that will enable things such as IP-based voice, data, gaming services and high quality streamed multimedia on portable devices with cable modem-like transmission speeds.
It’s a successor to 2G and 3G wireless, whereby the first signified the shift from analog to digital transmissions, bringing data services like SMS and email to mobile phones for the first time, and the second refers to the advent of things like global roaming as well as higher data rates.
The network that Guyana uses today allow for streaming of videos, downloading music and files, and surf the web at average data speeds. With 3G/4G, Guyana will be able to do the same but at much faster rates, while the extra bandwidth opens the door for newer applications.
GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Radha Krisha Sharma said that the delay in the company accessing the licensing “severely” impacts the company’s roll out of service and development in Guyana.
The CEO said this was the case “given the state of technological advances in the world today, and given Guyana’s size… small population size, population dispersion, and physical characteristics, the populations in various geographical areas of the country can best be served by wireless technologies”.
He noted that communities on the Essequibo Coast and those West of the Demerara River are good examples of areas that would be best served with wireless technologies.
He pointed out too that compared with wire line networks, wireless networks are relatively cheaper and easier to install.
Further, wireless technologies are well advanced and capable of delivering high-quality voice and very high data speeds when compared to the lesser evolved wire line service.
Sharma said “wireless network deployment is critically dependent on spectrum and despite our best effort over the last six to seven years, we have not managed to persuade Government and the NFMU to assign us the necessary spectrum.
While the appropriate spectrum assignment would aid our efforts to address the telecommunications needs of the communities referred to above, our inability to secure appropriate spectrum also inhibits our network migration and modernisation plans. Especially, it has put our Long-Term Evolution (LTE) plans on hold indefinitely.”
When asked whether the GT&T was prepared as far as infrastructure was concerned to deliver such a service to Guyana effectively, bringing the country’s telecoms sector on par with other territories in the world, Sharma said he would prefer not to answer directly. However he contended that planning the deployment of 3G and 4G networks requires a lot of work and consumes a significant amount of time.
Sharma remarked, “Fortunately for us, we have completed the planning phase and we own a country-wide tower infrastructure which does not have to be replicated.”
He pointed out too that GT&T has previously identified its ideal wireless technologies and “we have been careful to select technologies which are easily deployable” and which allow for cost reduction, even as they improve the quality of the service offerings.
“The fact that we already have our tower infrastructure throughout Guyana can only serve to fast track our time to market,” he said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.