Monday, March 10 2008

Digicel is claiming vindication in the tug-of-war between the company and TSTT over interconnection rates.

In a media release yesterday the company said that it was pleased to see that the Dispute Panel appointed by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) had ruled on the issue, and listed four areas where the company (Digicel) had come out ahead of TSTT.

According to Digicel, the ruling provides that TSTT must pay Digicel for the costs of using its network from the company’s launch of April 6, 2006; mandates that TSTT reduce by 42 percent charges to Digicel for calling TSTT’s fixed line network; stopped TSTT from levying an additional transit charge on Digicel for calling TSTT’s mobile network up to the date of the ruling; and, if TSTT is to levy such a charge in the future, it must reduce this by 89 percent.

Digicel also welcomed the panel’s recommendation that TATT investigate rates for calls from fixed to mobile phones, since Digicel had expressed concern about the rate structure.

“TSTT was using delaying tactics in agreeing interconnection rates and thereby denying consumers from the benefits of a liberalised telecommunications market,” the company stated, adding that the ruling “now moves Trinidad and Tobago closer to a fully liberalised market.”