As speculation continues over potential acquisitions within Belize's telecommunications sector, questions are mounting about transparency, competition, and the public's role in decisions that could reshape a critical national service and the telecoms landscape.
The concerns about monopoly power and whether formal public consultations should precede any major moves were put to Chairman Lizarraga today:
Reporter
"Do you believe that a monopoly is something that these, that people want and deserve? Will BTL commit to a formal public consultation process before any acquisitions made."
Mark Lizaragga, Chairman - BTL Board
"Again, two things. This is a private company. So the decisions that we make here do not necessarily need public consultations, but we will have public disclosures. One. Two, I tried to set the backdrop that as an essential service provider, we play a critically important role in communications in this country and the safeguarding of that communication. We play a critical role in communications along the highways. We play a critical role for business, for government, for everybody, for the TVs, for everybody. We have to have robust investments in infrastructure to be able to give the consumers of this country the reliability of service that they have come to expect from us, and it requires substantial investment."
