Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Telecommunications and Broadcasting, Oscar George, said he is not satisfied with the speed at which the internet is being restored on various parts of the island.
Since the passage of Hurricane Maria almost 3 years ago, the internet service in some areas on the island has not yet been restored.
“It’s coming up on three years since some areas in Dominica haven’t been connected and in my respectful view that is unacceptable,” George said on a recent edition of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s Anou Palay talk show.
“There has been argument that the return on investment may not be there, meaning that the operators may not make their money back as fast as they would like, but with an argument like that, it has to be substantiated,” George maintained.
He said data is needed since the regulator will not be in a position to assist without the data.
“And to be fair to the operators, they have been rolling out their service, to be fair to them, but the question is why are they going so slow, why hasn’t the entire island [been] restored?” the minister asked.
George said the government has made representation to the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) regarding the issue and according to him, the providers have an obligation based on the license under which they operate in Dominica, to provide internet access to the entire island.
“Also another obligation is that they do not discriminate and what I mean by that is, the price you charge a customer on the west coast for broadband should not differ to what you charge someone on the east coast,” George explained. “They may say it costs more to get to the east coast because of the terrain and that’s what the license stipulates.”
He said the government is seeking legal advice from ECTEL on these issues.
“[The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission] (NTRC) has been assisting in that.”
George indicated that as soon as the recommendation is received, he will be in a position to make a decision as to how this is treated.
He highlighted the importance of mobile data in the context of the concerns being raised about a 7-day plan, which some people say is exhausted after 4 days.
“The NTRC did a comprehensive study in terms of that and one of the recommendations coming from that is we review the current tariff regulations and this is also at ECTEL and recommendations would be expected very soon and we will seek to amend new legislation to control the tariff or make it a fairer rate for our customers,” George stated.
Dominica News Online (DNO) attempted to seek comment on the matter from both telecommunications companies in Dominica but in both cases, management was not available to speak with us.
Hit them minister, whenever light go we losing flow phone service bellevue and pichelin. My mother in loubiere still have no flow service. Madness
Even before Maria the companies were looking to make there moneys in DATA. Maria was for them best chance.
In the OECS, excluding Montserrat, Dominica has the smallest population and most rugged. This therefore present a challenge for any service telecom provider, Also in this small market there are two provider, Flow which for many years been providing service to the rural communities, has lost its major client, the government to Digicel. While I have no brief for either, in this .relative small market, neither provider will be able to provide services in the small rural areas at rate similar to urban areas.
This is very interesting, I hope the average Dominicans see thru those things, He came online and criticized the message from a young
lady what was affected by the issue. Yet, I don’t even think two months has passed and he is saying the exact same thing that she said,
I don’t think I can stress this enough. Mr Oscar George, do you think some sort of apology is owed to this young lady? I mean lets
say two months ago you thought she was wrong and today you see she is right. Don’t you think you should acknowledge that? Thank her for her
foresight? How was her statement “far from the truth”, yet two months later you’re singing the exact same song? What message is that sending?
Basically, because you’re the government, you can shut things down even if you know them to be true. Very terrible IMO. We say all
kinds of things about young people, but when they try to help we criticize even if we know deep down it was true. Shame.
Changed the way I look at you.
Wellcome to Globalization Dominica style, it seems that the Providers are seeking concessions from the Gov’t , before moving forward with any investments. At the end of it all, the consumers will be forced to pay more for service. The Information Super Hyway have become part of every day life for some, and the lack of access can be a real hassle. The providers don’t seem to care, business for them, means profits from their investments, while the people are used as pawns.
Wait Wait Wait!!, Isn’t that the exact same thing the young girl had said a few months back and I believe you said it wasnt true, or it was exaggerated, I can’t remember your exact quote. HOWEVER, today you’re saying service providers is too slow and about the return on investment the EXACT SAME thing she said and you criticized her. Ok im back I went to look for the quote, you said Melinard’s statement was “unwarranted” and “far from the truth.”. So the fact that you saying it now means you’re statements are far from the truth right? So why You coming on the show and offer comments that are far from the truth sir? You never came online and lent your voice to the child, now you using words like “it’s unacceptable”? It seems like you just another figure head that was given a pretty speech.
That’s the problem with telling lies, you lose track of them, Mr Oscar George, your statement is unwarranted and far from the truth.
True say. The Minister for Education criticized the young lady and they even said it was politically motivated. Today they like no one ever brought it up before… Looking for credit for observation some one else brought up before.
They know damn well the telecommunications system here sucks. That many children suffer from marginalized and compromised internet service.
But they will want to take credit and say they bring it up first to show the minister working… All you think Dominicans dumn… Think twice.
The best joke is Mr Oscar went and say it was FAR from the truth, he didn’t “Yess but we working”, he didn’t say “Just one area that doesn’t have” , he said that was FAR from what is considered true. YET!!! Six months haven’t passed and he coming and repeat it like he just discovered that.
Both Mr. George & Mr. Laville have their work cut out for them. They will soon realize that everything is held up by politics and laziness here. There is no reason why LIME/FLOW have to tell me 3 years after Maria that they cannot do connections in the Roseau Valley yet. Absolute rubbish.
They have a business to run and not trying to win election. If a location is not profitable it just means not enough paying customers out there to sustain business where revenue outweighs cost enough to make a profit. The government should be about passing regulations that give incentives to encourage growth and success. There is something cash flow. Revenue in cash out through cost and investment. A business manages its cash flow to not risk financial collapse. All these are to be factored. Government should focus on putting system in place so the country can grow and people in community have money to spend. That way the providers will proceed faster because there is revenue. A government that cannot generate any economic growth in a country after 20 years is in no position to lecture anyone. The state of people development in Dominica is unacceptable!!!
Private business can only flourish when the economy is strong or showing sign of an upward growth….. DA is exhibiting NEITHER.
In a down economy no sensible business who’s first responsibility is to its shareholders will expand its business footprint. If they do, it will be done in a prudent fashion which seem very slow for Mr. Oscar but the right approach by waiting on ROI to make the next expansion.
Note: I agree we have an issue but I believe a hybrid funding should be establish. The GOVT should ask the providers to present the capital investment needed to launch internet service in the under-served areas which would allow to keep the same pricing across the country. Also get an outside consultant company to provide a budgetary figure to launch the similar product so you keep them honest.
Then have the providers fund their business case and the GOVT will make up the difference.
The problem solved and the beneficiary GOVT/Economy, people and providers.
I agree with you Mr. George but your own government could have stipulated that as part of them being granted licence to operate in our country they must provide internet service country wide at the same price to all customers. If we do not do that the island will always stay behind in its development and education. The government must lead this initiative if they are truly in power and concerned about our development.
The Kalinago Territory still waiting.