Legal opinion needed for cable

LEGAL ADVICE is required before steps can be taken to regulate cable television in Trinidad and Tobago. In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment recalled there were numerous complaints from the members of the public about service from cable television and it has requested advice from the Regulatory Industries Commission (RIC), as to whether the supply of cable television should be regulated under the control of the RIC.

“The rationale is that there may be an urgent need for regulating cable TV and its application to TT,” the Ministry said. Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas has agreed to the recommendations but is awaiting a legal opinion from the Solicitor-General on the matter, as public policy must be guided by law. According to Section 37(2) of the RIC Act, four conditions must be satisfied before a Minister can add a service to be regulated: the Minister has consulted with the RIC; the market for the service is not competitive; the regulation would be in the public interest and the benefits to the economy of regulating the provision of the service would outweigh the costs. The Ministry noted that TT is one of the few countries where there is no separate cable TV law to regulate cable and most countries have established rules and regulatory oversight specifically on cable. The RIC has the general responsibility to regulate monopolies in utility services.