B.T.L. expands fibre network south

While the high level manoeuvring surrounding Jeffrey Prosser’s efforts to buy out B.T.L.’s minority shareholders and purchase a bankrupt Intelco, raise doubts about his corporate style, on the ground in Belize the magnate seems to be keeping his promise of improved service to customers. Today B.T.L. announced that its fibre optic network, which already stretches North and West, is headed south. According to the company’s head of network services, Ernesto Torres, the fibre will reach Dangriga by year’s end and will then head to Punta Gorda. What will it mean for customers?

Ernesto Torres, Head of Network Services, B.T.L.

?Well they will be able to see increase speeds in DSL; internet access. They will be able to see improved quality as far as voice communications are concerned because of the fibre optic cable. Obviously they will be able to see an availability of bandwidth for business applications that normally we would not be able to carry at this time. ?

And what about expansion of cellular reception and service to rural areas?

Ernesto Torres

?Our first focus; our first attention is to go to the sites between Dangriga and Punta Gorda. As you know we have three cell sites there and we are trying to cover to provide extended coverage between Dangriga and Punta Gorda and that?s our plans and we intend to execute them in the first quarter of this coming year. Once we have completed that, the idea then is to look at the Hummingbird Highway to see how we can cover that highway and we would then be in a position to generate plans to that effect.?

?Well the plan is to gradually roll our services out to the rural areas. The rural areas present particular challenges in terms of infrastructure and obviously in being able to connect them very quickly. Cellular coverage would certainly be from the North to the South and as I said, we are looking at the Hummingbird Highway closely. But the plan is to gradually extend services both voice, internet and data communications to rural communities on a gradual basis.?

Torres told News 5 that new cell sites will soon be installed in Placencia, Seine Bight and Maya Beach. In related news, our efforts to ask B.T.L.’s corporate parent about its intentions regarding the purchase of Intelco have fallen on deaf ears. The public relations officer for Innovative Communications Corporation informed us that under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed with Intelco, no information can be released until an agreement is finalized.