The Government’s US$32 million ICT network will be extended to areas within the coastline, following a feasibility assessment by Chinese technology giant, Huawei.
Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes addressing media
According to Permanent Secretary of the Public Telecommunications Ministry, Floyd Levi the areas identified for expansion include Bartica, Linden, Kwakwani, Port Kaituma, Mabaruma, Annai and Lethem.
The announcement of expansion came after a Guyanese delegation headed by Public Telecommunications Minister Catherine Hughes, visited the company in Shanghai, China, to secure the long-term capability of Guyana’s telecommunications networks, and to obtain technical aid and training capacity.
In 2010, the Government secured a US$32 million loan from the China Exim Bank to build an E-Government network that was installed along the coastline of Guyana. The existing network consists of a fibre optic system in Georgetown, and a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network that spans from Skeldon, Berbice to Charity, Essequibo Coast. It provides internet access to schools and government ministries on the coastline.
Levi admitted that there are several shortcomings in the layout of the ICT network, particularly the unavailability of the severely damaged fibre optic cable. This cable was expected to have been laid subterraneous along the Linden to Lethem corridor, and should have had the capacity to provide Internet services to all hinterland communities in most administrative regions.
“We asked Huawei to consider doing an assessment to expand on our network reach since it is limited to the Coastline and does not offer services to citizens south of Diamond…We don’t get to Bartica, we don’t get to Linden, Timehri, Annai or Lethem.”
He said too that they have also asked the company to provide training for Guyana’s ICT engineers and technicians since only four engineers were trained to operate the cable when the network was built.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised that once the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed in the next two weeks, the assessment will commence immediately. Through the assessment process they would be able to infer which would be the best technological method for the expansion. They are however actively pursuing satellite technology for remote areas since it is evident that it is more practical.
Towards this end, the ministry has sent out expressions of interest to local satellite providers who have since accepted their requests to provide estimates for those areas.
The ministry is also engaging the Chinese company to build a second data centre technology outside of Georgetown.
“…maybe at a location in Kuru Kuru, Linden or Lethem,” he said.
Huawei, which is China’s multinational networking and Telecommunications Equipment and Services Company, was the company that constructed the network in Guyana. It is reputed to be the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012; it also built the national ICT networks in Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Panama.
Hughes, on the other hand, stated that Guyana’s problems cannot be solved in a traditional way and it is crucial for the establishment of a strong telecommunications sector:
“What is exciting is that with the use of existing technology we have the capacity and also the opportunity to truly connect, transform and innovate.”
