Musa explains Govt’s new telecom plan
While Glenn Godfrey may have lost a legal battle today, he’s still hoping to win the larger telecommunications war. Last week in his budget speech Prime Minister Said Musa announced the signing of a contract with Godfrey’s ITL and Korea’s LG Electronics, which would give the newcomers the right to install a wireless Internet network for use by government and educational institutions. Musa elaborated on the ambitious plan this morning.
Prime Minister Said Musa
“This is an agreement we made primarily with LG, the giant electronic company out of South Korea that makes computers and that’s also involved with Internet connections, generally in the whole information technology business. That company along with ITL will be supplying to Belize for our schools, primary, secondary and tertiary, as well as our libraries throughout the country, Internet connection with five thousand computers for all the educational facilities. The great thing about this system is that it will not just be in Belize City, we will be able to take this technology all the way to Toledo, up north to Corozal, the cayes, throughout the whole country of Belize. All Belizean children will have the opportunity to take full advantage of this wonder and this great information technology that is available throughout the world.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“This is also part with the Glenn Godfrey Group right? Is this a way maybe for him to get his foot in the door prior to the monopoly being up for BTL?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Well clearly one can look at it that way, but you can’t blame him, as a business person. We will respect BTL’s monopoly contract under the law up until December 2002. But we have made no secret about it that government’s intent is to open up to allow competition into this very vital and strategic industry. We believe this is the way to go and we’ve said this to BTL before, so it has come as no surprise to them.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“How will the computers be distributed and will it be a countrywide network link?
Prime Minister Said Musa
“It will be a countrywide. It will not just be to government schools, it will be to church-state schools, the entire education system will benefit from it.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Who is funding the five thousand computers?
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Government had to make an advance payment of about four million, but it is being funded by a Securitization programme, initially through Provident Bank, but it will be securitised. In effect it’s a long term funding which will be self-financing. That is the plan through cyber cafes.”
“The hope is that certainly in the central schools in the districts towns will be able to convert these computer centres into cyber cafes where people can go in pay a fee and surf or do whatever they like on the computer.”
In case you weren’t aware, the four million dollar payment mentioned by Musa is four million U.S. dollars and the total cost of the project is twenty million U.S. dollars. Provident Bank, which is financing the scheme, is the same Provident Bank owned by… Glenn Godfrey. As for the cyber cafe idea, we have no comment, but between the convoluted goings on of government and Godfrey, and the rapacious rates charged by BTL there is going to be more than coffee spilled before this mess sorts itself out.
