The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) promised to provide “a comprehensive three-year master plan which would be carefully crafted by globally respected experts in their respective fields to help prepare Guyana for that exciting transformation from a mostly commodities-driven economy to a fully-fledged and respected player in the International Digital Economy.” They called it “Digital Nation”. Where is this Digital Nation? Or was this another of President David Granger’s empty promises in an attempt to fool the youths in 2015?
At the world’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain that ended on March 1, 2018, we heard about transforming networks for 5G. Guyana is still living with 3G HSPA+ networks, which they market as 4G. So it is all a gimmick in Guyana, this whole concept of a Digital Nation.
Let me be clear, the two main carriers did market 4G some 30 months ago but after talking to several technicians living in Guyana, they have confirmed that the mobile signal is not consistent and you are more likely to benefit from 3G with the illusion of 4G. For us to understand the difference, what is 4G and 3G on the mobile platform?
3G vs 4G
To be advertised as 3G, a network is required to meet technical standards for speed and reliability. According to the OpenSignal Report, the average connection speed for 3G mobile phones is 4.1 Mbps. 4G, on the other hand, are designed to deliver theoretically higher connection speed but the global average is around 16.9 Mbps. This should not take away from the fact that the top five countries are far outperforming the rest of the world. Singapore has an average connection speed for their 4G mobile phones of 44.31 Mbps and it is available 84.43 per cent of the time. They are closely followed by South Korea with an average connection speed for their 4G mobile phones of 40.44 Mbps that is available 97.49 per cent of the time. The other countries that are offering over 40 Mbps are Norway and Holland. Where is Guyana?
According to that report, Guyana offers 4G with an average connection speed of 12 Mbps but it is only available about 33.13 per cent of the time, with the remaining time covered by 3G connections. This is possible because the newer generations 4G ready phones are designed to be backward compatible to communicate through a 3G if the 4G networks fail. This is what happens in Guyana for 66.87 per cent of the time, an expensive 4G compatible phone is communicating using a 3G network; the Mercedes Benz being pulled by the proverbial donkey.
It makes no sense to pay for 4G services but two-thirds of the time you are stuck on a 3G network. Isn’t this the definition of fraud? The Public Telecommunication Ministry is failing the nation badly on this front. Why after three years and all these promises, we have still not broken the monopoly and leveraged the investment opportunities from that development? It was Granger who promised in his first 100 days to liberalise the “Telecommunications and ICT sectors”. NOT DONE Mr Granger!
Granger told us on page 32 of his 2015 manifesto that he will take public policy measures to enhance the “legal and regulatory framework to create an environment that recognises that ICTs are now tradable and that the ICT sector (including telecommunications) must be organised along competitive lines to ensure growth and development within the sector and the economy as a whole.” All bunkum if not backed by action. Just look at the Government website and you find that they are “committed to promoting and implementing Government’s vision of establishing ICT as a fundamental pillar of Guyana’s developmental agenda, creating a digital government, and increasing broadband and Internet connectivity throughout the country in the transformation of Guyana.” AND? Where are the deliverables? Where are the investments in new technology to drive the ICT sector? Where is the real tangible action toward rolling out a digital government? Where are the increases in Internet and wireless connectivity? Why is Guyana only benefiting from 4G only one-third of the time and only at special locations? And what about the APNU/AFC promise of “establishing adequate computer labs and Information Technology and training in every school”. Yet another unfulfilled Granger promise? As one drill down into the actions and promises of this Granger-led People’s National Congress Government, you find more and more they are experts at saying things that are demonstrably false. There is a pattern here and we must quickly expose and depose these low-class BULLCRAP artists before they further destroy the nation.
