Lord Michael Ashcroft has weighed in on reports that Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) is considering acquiring Speednet Communications, better known as Smart.
“I mean, well, first of all, I would have to declare where my interest is in this particular one before I answer the question. Speednet, which is one of the companies that is talked about whether it comes in with the cable companies, is majority owned by Waterloo Charitable Trust. And that trust also owns the hospital here, Universal Health Services,” Ashcroft disclosed.
“Competition in the telecommunications industry changes all the time. If you just cast your mind back, we had a lot of problems here when voice over internet protocol came in. The law here said that was illegal to protect the domestic BTL at the time. But eventually, that had to be abandoned because the internet, WhatsApp, and all the rest of it came in and took the revenue away. And then the telephone companies have to compete on that.”
On whether BTL’s reported interest in acquiring Smart should raise alarm, Ashcroft said concerns about monopoly must be balanced with the fact that the state owns nearly all of BTL. “Now, where BTL is concerned, the first reaction is, how’s this going to affect the consumer? ‘Monopolies are terrible, awful, and shouldn’t be allowed,’ is the first reaction. In this particular case, there are some fundamental differences. The monopoly through BTL is owned 95 percent by the government and the Social Security Board. So whatever happens to BTL and whatever the profits are, low or high, is in control of the government.”
Ashcroft noted that strong BTL earnings can help ease pressure on taxpayers. He also stressed that BTL is already facing competition that will only grow. “In the future, BTL will be under competitive pressure from things like Starlink, which will be the next thing that comes. So it won’t be a monopoly per se. It will be them reorganising to get into place for this country to compete with the international carriers that come in.”
He also warned that failing to adapt could backfire if global players dominate the market. “If they decide that they want low cost here, which they may have to in any event when Starlink and other satellite-based companies come in, do you want a BTL and a Speednet to both go bust and give Starlink the monopoly?”