Government Gets Telecom Licence

Dave Archbold	Alee Fa’amoe

Friday, July 16, 2004

The Cayman Islands Government was granted a telecommunications licence by the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) on 10 May, according to ICTA Managing Director Dave Archbold.

Mr Archbold indicated that the licence was issued in order to allow Government to sell extra telecom infrastructure capacity to third parties, and to regularise its providing of already-in-place services to other Government agencies like statutory authorities.

With regard to telecom infrastructure, the Government will now be able to offer third parties the use of its fibre optic cables and telecom towers. “It’s a good move for Government in the sense that it allows them to make money on their spare infrastructure capacity and get a return on their capital investment,” said Mr Archbold.

The licence granted also allows for the resale of telephony, and to provide Internet services, but Mr Archbold stressed that the Government would not be competing with Cayman’s other telecom providers by offering these services to the general public.

“The Government will not be providing primary Internet services, which they never have done and never will do,” he said. “It just allows them to continue providing all the existing things they are already providing to other Governmental organisations like Lands and Survey and the Company Registry.”

Mr Archbold said the Government’s licence was the same as any other licence granted by the ICTA, except that the licence fee did not have to be paid. “This is the way the law is written, and it’s done for practical reasons. First, the Government would just be paying the fee back to itself, and second, it would put us in the impossible situation of having to audit all of Government’s books.”

Cable & Wireless spokesperson Alee Fa’amoe said that his company did not see a problem with the granting of the licence with regard to services. “If it’s just to legitimise services that are provided to other organs of Government, then we have no major concerns.”

As for the selling of infrastructure to third parties, Mr Fa’amoe was more leery. “Choice is always a good thing in the market, particularly when a licensee offers something that is in demand,” he said, “But you have to be concerned when that licensee is a Government entity.

AT&T Wireless’ General Manager Raul Nicholson Coe said that he would have to study the Government’s licence before he could comment on its granting

Digicel, the third major operator in Cayman’s telecom industry, could not be reached for comment.

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