BRIDGETOWN, Barbados-Cable & Wireless and the government of Jamaica announced a historic agreement that will lead to the introduction of telecom liberalization far sooner than was scheduled under the carrier’s former string of 25-year licenses.
However, the British company has won key concessions that allow it to maintain its dominant position until full competition takes effect, possibly by 2003.
The agreement, signed 30 September, stipulates that a three-year plan to open the monopolized market will start after the government introduces new telecom laws, expected within six months.
Cable & Wireless held five 25-year telecom operating licenses, including one for wireless service, granted by the government in August 1988.
Some officials in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), critical of perceived disadvantages in the agreement, are concerned it undermines their current negotiations with Cable & Wireless to liberalize their markets before 2003.
