BTL Closes the Door on $80M Speednet Acquisition
Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) is closing the door on its proposed acquisition of Speednet. In an employee bulletin, BTL Chairman Markhelm Lizarraga told employees the company accepts Cabinet’s decision not to support the $80 million acquisition of Speednet (SMART).
“We respect Cabinet’s decision and the process through which it was reached,” Lizarraga said. “The process of how we could have expanded our business through an acquisition is now behind us. We close that chapter and turn our full attention to how we will expand our business through other avenues in an ever-evolving competitive landscape.”
He added BTL must now find other alternative avenues for growth as it faces a more heavily regulated telecommunications market, particularly with the Public Utilities Commission’s expected designation of the company as a dominant provider.
“It brings additional regulatory obligations, greater oversight and constraints that will require us to be even more disciplined in how we operate, compete, invest and serve our customers,” Lizarraga said.
The bulletin follows Speednet’s first public response since the Cabinet’s Wednesday announcement. Speednet says BTL approached it with acquisition offers twice, in 2022 and again in mid-2025, and that public opposition to the deal only grew in the months since.
Speednet says government telecommunications contracts will have to be publicly tendered, while BTL’s dominant-provider designation will bring obligations aimed at strengthening competition. These include infrastructure sharing at cost and possible changes to surcharges imposed on competitors.
For BTL, Lizarraga says the company will continue its transformation from a telecommunications company into a broader “TechCo”, with investments in digital services, cloud, cybersecurity, managed services and enterprise solutions.