Espat endeared himself to the tourism audience even more when he took a bold stance on the debate over VoIP. As we reported, Voice over the Internet has become a hot button issue, particularly in the tourism sector after BTL started blocking it. Today Espat said BTL is the one breaking the law.
Hon. Mark Espat,
"VoIP is not illegal in Belize and it should not be made illegal. 49 countries in fact have legalized VoIP. What is illegal is BTL's blocking of VoIP. VoIP has emerged because of the exorbitant cost of long distance calls. BTL, which itself, employs VoIP technology should now offer this service to Belizeans at globally competitive prices.
BTL's ownership appears to be clinging to the past mainly to protect profits. The march of technology and the tide of personal freedom that brought us from morse code, to telex, to fax machines, to email cannot be halted. The PUC, if it is to remain relevant, must defend the interests of the consumers."
The call to the PUC comes as the commission's board is reviewing the VoIP issue. As we noted, all those remarks were delivered at the bi-annual general meeting of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. The meeting comes as the industry gets ready for the July first implementation of the general sales tax, a tax which places a considerable burden particularly on the tourist sector. We'll tell you more about the industry position on that later on in the newscast.
