Consumers affected by a regulatory breach by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) can expect to receive a $100 credit applied to their cellular mobile account on 12 December 2018.

The credit to affected consumers is the result of a determination made by URCA on 7 May 2018. URCA found that on 24 and 25 November 2017, BTC failed to comply with the requirements of the rules and regulations relating to mobile number portability causing unacceptable delays to 514 customers seeking to “port” their telephone numbers to Be Aliv Limited (Aliv).

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has paid a fine of $102,004.00, in compliance with an order handed down by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), after a comprehensive investigation and determination in which URCA found that BTC had breached the regulations relating to number portability.

The determination by URCA, ordered BTC to pay $51,400.00 of the fine to compensate the affected subscribers as compensation for the delay caused by BTC’s breaches. The balance of the fine was paid directly to URCA.

Each of the affected subscribers who currently have active services on the Aliv and BTC networks will receive the $100 credit. The affected subscribers whose accounts are credited shall be sent a SMS message advising them of credited funds.

Mobile Number Portability allows a subscriber of mobile telephone services to choose the service provider of their choice, without having to change their telephone number by using the established number porting process. Since the 27 April 2017 launch of mobile number portability in The Bahamas, more than 47,000 customers have successfully ported their telephone numbers between the two mobile networks in The Bahamas, operated by BTC and Aliv. URCA is committed to ensuring that its licensees comply with the laws and regulations, while protecting the interest of consumers.

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