And while the BTL mess continues to swirl in an ever deepening vortex of ruin, on the ground, the news is improving for phone users who only ever wanted cheaper phone rates. Well, they might finally have it as competition is on between BTL and Speednet.
A month after its "soft" launch, Speednet today had its full commercial launch of operations. And even before their first full day of operation the new telecom kid on the block is boasting of over 6400 customers. Investment Minister Ralph Fonseca was on hand last night for the ribbon cutting at the official opening of their new showroom. Today that showroom on the Northern Highway was opened to those who were ready to make the switch.
So how was day one? Well it was pretty slow if you compare it to Intelco's chaotic launch back in 2003 when the flood of customers virtually forced the closure of New Road. But Speednet isn't after Intelco style boom and bust or show and sham, Executive Director Edwardo Santiago is optimistic that, in time, cell phone users will realize Speednet as the "smart" choice. He broke down why BTL's 75,000 cell customers should make that switch.
Edwardo Santiago, Executive Director - Speednet
"We have a system that works, it works very well. We have extensive coverage, we will have better coverage than the existing BTL GSM network and in addition to that we have better value proposition in terms of the amount of usage of minutes and of communication time you can get from your money, you can get a better deal with us than the actual rates from BTL."
Martha Martello - Commercial Director for Speednet
"Our best advantage is the billing per second. Second billing means that you pay for what you talk, even a second, not per minute."
Keith Swift,
How will that work?
Martha Martello,
"Normally you would be charged for two minutes. But now if you talk for one minute and one second, with Smart, you will pay for one minute and one second. Our minute is 75 cents and a second is like 1.2 seconds so you will pay 77 cents."
Keith Swift,
Do you expect BTL to just sit back and watch their customers walk out the door?
Edwardo Santiago, Executive Director - Speednet
"I really don't know what BTL will do. We know what we will do. We have a very good value proposition and its up to them to see if they want to keep up with us. It is up to them. As the market grows, customers will be empowered and customers will drive the market. Right now the market is being driven by the dominant player. With competition then the power is moved from the company to the people. The people will then choose which is the better value proposition and will demand more and more from the companies. Whatever company can deliver what the customer wants will be the winner. We feel very very confident due to the way we are structured and due to the efficient way in which we built our network and design our products that we are here to compete, we are here for the long run, and its going to be a very interesting to watch when the market evolves."
Keith Swift,
It's competition.
Edwardo Santiago,
It's competition. That's what you and I and the whole Belizean people wanted and its here."
Speednet and BTL postpaid plans are similar. The difference comes down to prepaid service: a call during peak periods will cost 75 cents on Speednet and 85 cents on BTL. Off-peak will be 55 cents per minute on both carriers but its important to note that Speednet will bill you per second and not per minute like BTL.
Speednet claims to have full nationwide coverage including the cayes. That is with the exception of blackout points on the Western Highway between La Democracia and Belmopan and in the area of Carmelita Village on the Northern Highway. Both sites should be up within the next 2 weeks. So currently with a Speednet phone you can only call anywhere in Belize. And that is only in Belize because they don't have international calling as yet but Speednet says it will be up in 2 months in addition to internet.
