BTL Presents SpeedNet Acquisition to Cabinet

Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) has presented its proposed acquisition of SpeedNet to Cabinet today, following consultations with the Social Security Board, the Belize Communications Workers’ Union, and other stakeholders.

The government says it will make its position public once BTL concludes its round of ongoing consultations.

In an interview after the meeting, BTL Chairman Markhelm Lizarraga said, “I think it went very well. I think Cabinet was very engaged. They had a lot of questions they wanted to answer. We did a good job of explaining why it is we are proposing, what we are proposing and we will see where go from there.”

Lizarraga explained the rationale behind the acquisition. “BTL is owned by the people of Belize so any benefit through this proposed consolidation will bring benefits to the people of Belize as owners and benefits through services,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Utilities, Energy and Logistics Michel Chebat described the meeting as a “thorough presentation.”

Chebat said that Cabinet has yet to make a decision and confirmed the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is preparing a Statutory Instrument (SI) to ensure that rates and service bundles remain unchanged during the transitional period.

“The PUC is preparing an SI, which will be sent to the Attorney General before it comes to the cabinet. That is to ensure that there’s a transitional period; during that period, rates would not be raised, bundles would not be changed, and subscribers would not be allowed to be moved from one rate to another unless specifically required and things like that.”

When asked about the concerns over monopoly claims, Chebat stated, “I don’t know if there’s a monopoly. As far as I know, there are about 23 other broadband providers in this country.”