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…
When the new session of the Council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), meets to begin its work for the next four years, The Bahamas will be seated as one of the Council’s 48 member states. The Bahamas was successful in its first bid to sit on council gaining the vote of 162 member states, out of a possible 177 present and voting. The election to Council took place during the second week of the ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference, (ITU PP) currently underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE. The ITU PP is the supreme organ of the ITU at which…
Today the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority, URCA published its Statement of Results and Final Decision (SOR) with regards to the Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) Consumer Protection Plan (CPP). In accordance with the Electricity Act, (EA), BPL is mandated to produce a Consumer Protection Plan which must then be vetted by URCA. Following established consultation rules, and after an initial review and revision of the document, URCA engaged the public in an extensive period of consultation holding town meetings throughout several family islands and New Providence. At the conclusion of the consultation process, the legislation requires URCA to review…
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) issues this Notice in accordance with Section 8(1)(e) of the Communications Act, 2009 and Section 9 of the URCA Consultation Procedure Guidelines – 04/2017. On 13 July 2018 URCA published on its website Consultation Document – ECS 08/2018 which provided FM radio broadcasters, members of the public and other interested parties the opportunity to submit to URCA written responses to the proposed technical standards for FM radio broadcasting in The Bahamas and other related matters. The consultation period closed on 13 August 2018 and URCA is concerned that it has not received any…
