CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Friday March 11, 2016 – The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) says negotiations with Cable & Wireless regarding the company’s proposed merger with Columbus Communications International have ended without the parties coming to an amicable agreement.
While existing legislation does not give ECTEL the power to stop or put conditions on mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications sector, the Authority had been working along with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions (NTRCs) to reach agreement on several issues, ever since the merger was announced in November 2014.
Those issues included: the minimum speed and price for entry level broadband packages; maintaining an open Internet; sharing of telecommunications infrastructure for existing and new entrants to provide new services; and protection provisions to ensure customers are not disadvantaged by new services and pricing to be implemented following the merger.
ECTEL says that in the absence of an agreement, it will fulfill its mandate to promote open entry, market liberalization and competition in the telecommunications sector of contracting states.
“The Telecommunications Act will guide ECTEL and the NTRCs as they seek to maintain a fair and liberalized market environment,” it said.
“ECTEL is also working to secure the passage of the draft Electronic Communications Bill which was consulted upon from October to December 2015, and which will further assist with managing any adverse effects on consumers and other stakeholders, by giving ECTEL additional powers and tools with which to regulate.”
ECTEL is also conducting a public consultation on a suite of new regulations, including regulations on access to network infrastructure, retail pricing and consumer protection which are intended, in conjunction with the proposed Electronic Communications Bill, to further strengthen the regulatory environment, promote fair competition, and safeguard consumer rights.
“As we seek to maintain a competitive environment in all ECTEL Member States, the public is hereby requested to report to the NTRC in their respective jurisdictions, any actions in the telecommunications market that infringe their rights as consumers, or degrade their existing service,” the Authority encouraged.
ECTEL is the regulatory body for telecommunications in its member states – Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.