Are people spending too much on telecoms?

Have people become telephone junkies; are they spending too much on telecommunications? This is what the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunication Authority (ECTEL) wants to find out.{{more}}

So says recently elected chairman of the ECTEL Council of Ministers, Minister of Telecommunications Dr Jerrol Thompson.

He said that a study to this end is one of the projects that ECTEL will be working on this coming year.

“Are we seeing that individuals are spending a whole heap of money on telecommunications to the detriment of food and so forth,” Dr Thompson told journalists at a media conference last Monday, October 22nd, at Cabinet Room.

Commenting on the issue of telecommunications spending, Dr Thompson said that over the last decade that telecommunications prices have been dropping significantly.

“The prices were extremely high,” Dr Thompson said.

The minister said that while it is important to encourage the use of telephones, as ready communication can help develop small businesses, people must be wise.

“We certainly want to encourage persons to use cell phones wisely, use it prudently,” Dr Thompson said.

Dr Thompson said that another element of the study would be whether or not businesses are adapting to the advancement in technology,

and to see if these advancements are improving their delivery of service.

Also on ECTEL’s agenda for next year, Dr Thompson said, is a continued review of the telecommunications act. He said that ECTEL hopes to put new regulations in place to deal with the enforcement of rules, and very importantly, guidelines to dispute resolution.

The content of telecommunications customer agreements will also come up for review by ECTEL. (KJ)