Dear Sir,

At the end of August I wrote a letter titled Internet Speeds Falling Behind (was renamed by the RG editor). The letter compared what was on offer here to an internet provider called Flow in Barbados. Briefly summarising that letter, I mentioned: They only pay one provider for access, offer faster speeds and better pricing, are further away from the States than us, and it is a much bigger island to have to run fibre optic cable throughout.

Since that letter, CellOne entered the internet market. Their prices are similar when compared to other local providers, but savings can be made if the service is bundled.

Before they break out the champagne, let’s look at what the same company Flow has accomplished in that timeframe.

50MB, which was $150 Barbados dollars ($75 BMD), was upgraded to 75MB at no extra cost. 100MB, which was $200 Barbados dollars ($100 BMD), was upgraded to 150MB at no extra cost as well effective November 1.

To the Minister responsible for telecommunications and the Regulatory Commission I urge you to please get the ball rolling, preferably before Jesus returns. This monopoly between BTC and CableVision must be broken. Get both companies to lower their prices and upgrade speeds accordingly. Another option would be to allow the providers like Digicel to run their own cable island-wide to eliminate the need of having to go through CableVision and BTC. The last choice would be to look abroad at companies that believe in true innovation and not just profits.

If I’m not mistaken, households in Bermuda with internet is easily in the 90s percentile. It is embarrassing that such a technologically savvy society is stuck at 25MB for an astronomical price in 2013. The Bermuda public deserves much better.

UNITED

Devonshire