5 Jul 2011Guyana Broadband Overview

Guyana’s telecom sector is in a relatively nascent stage of growth and liberalization. While Guyana’s fixed-line teledensity and its mobile penetration are about average for Latin America, broadband uptake has been negligible. Both DSL and wireless technologies are available but access has suffered from severe bandwidth shortage. Most Internet access is still via dial-up. Since the completion of the Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System, which became operational in May 2010, services have improved. Still, broadband remains comparatively slow and expensive, and the number of broadband subscribers is small. The industry should see better growth once competition is introduced into the market.

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is the largest telecom operator in the country, with a monopoly over fixed-line services. GT&T was privatized in 1991, when Atlantic Tele Network Inc. (ATN) acquired an 80 per cent stake in the company. GT&T’s fixed licence expired in January 2011, leaving GT&T to decide whether to exercise its renewal option. In October 2010, in a bid to liberalise the market, the Guyanese government completed a draft Telecommunications Amendment Bill, addressing not only the termination of GT&T’s voice and data services monopoly, but also issues relating to spectrum management rates, interconnection, access, competition, and consumer protection. When finalised, the new Bill will be sent to the National Assembly for Approval, paving the way for full telecom liberalisation in Guyana.