Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company

active

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company is the national telecommunications company in the country, offering both fixed and cellular service. The company was partially privatized in 1991 when the government sold a 80% stake for US$16.5 million to Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), a US operator. The remaining 20% was retained by the government. The highly controversial transaction included a 20-year monopoly on telephone service in the country. Cellular lines have increased from 25,862 in 2001 to 67,931 in 2002, and fixed lines from 77,497 to 83,791 in the same period. The number of mobile clients at GT&T doubled in 2002 from approximately 40,000 to 80,000 subscribers. The company went to court in 2002 in order to prevent an Inter-American Development Bank loan. The estimated US$20 million loan was found by the company to be an attempt to develop a telephone network that ended the company's monopoly. The monopoly on mobile services ended in 2004 when an additional provider - Cel-Star Guyana - entered the market. ATN had invested over $84 million in the company between 1991 and 1998. By end of 2000, GT&T had invested $140 million towards the growth and expansion of telecommunication facilities and services. www.gtt.co.gy