Authority forces C&W to up rates

by Sheelagh Doyle

Friday, April 9, 2004

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Reader comments:

• In the Radio Cayman Report of the ICTA ruling, the Minister responsible - the Hon. Juliana O'Connor-Conolly was quoted as saying that the ICTA's finding/ruling had to contain "assumptions" due to the time frame for their ruling on the submission from C&W. The ICTA took more than a week to issue this 50 page report, and it is amazing, that after giving C&W little more than a day to submit the requested information - versus the week or more the ICTA took to make their ruling -- they have the gall to say that the ICTA had to make "assumptions" due to lack of time. Do the initials ICTA stand for "Intelligent Communication Totally Absent"? It would seem so, because one would not expect such a committee to make "assumptions" - Makes the Heart Sad
  
   
• All the years we have had to endure high prices for telecommunications and the very thing (competition) introduced to bring prices down is now making it rise! I really have to question what it is the ICTA is doing. Can we be certain that the members are: (a) qualified to makes such judgments not in favour of the people; (b) that no member has interests in the competition; and (c) that they expect us to believe that the rates are below cost? If that is the case then let us watch and see if the shareholders of C&W agree. I am pretty sure they do not want to lose money. Shame on the ICTA! - Tony
  
   
• Are we living in a capitalist society or are we in the old communist bloc, where all for one and all was meant to prevail? Yes it’s indeed sad that C&W had to get its proverbial butt kicked in order for it to wake up and provide better pricing/quality of service, however, it is still understood that we are in a free enterprise system where pricing, marketing, location and ultimately the consumer demands and pays for what he/she sees as value. The blatant suppression of rates that will provide the consumer with "value" can only be looked at in two ways; sheer manipulation on the part of competitors or simple and unadulterated ignorance of market forces - Let Freedom Ring
  
   
• What a coincidence that the management team at C&W would decide to "continue its promise to bring the best possible prices to our customers in the Cayman Islands" (as quoted from Ms Fa’amoe) as their monopoly came to an end and Digicel and AT&T started to deplete their market share. I agree, competition is good and we, the residents, want lower prices but until C&W was forced, they did nothing for the residents but to increase their prices. It is so funny that all of a sudden they are able to reduce their costs at such a level that they can offer below cost prices. Great job team!
  
  What C&W is doing is unethical and unrealistic. Eventually they will have to increase their prices because they won't be able to sustain that indefinitely. Cayman is very sophisticated and these anti-competition tactics should be dealt with immediately. I agree with the authority, C&W should increase their rates. C&W if you were putting your customers first from the beginning, you might not be going through this right now - Been Dooped

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