TSTT A MONOPOLY

On Monday August 16, 2004 I read an advertisement in the daily newspaper about a long distance calling service which offers International calls at a very reasonable rate, so I called to enquire and was impressed with the facilities of the service as I hooked up the following day. Finding such a service was a God-send, as my wife is on a four-month training programme and I need to call fairly often, mostly for the sake of my three-year-old daughter; she just needs to talk to Mum. However, by Thursday August 19 (three days later), the service was inoperative, naturally I called to inquire as to the reason, only to be informed by a representative of the company that the Internet-based calling service had been blocked by TSTT.

Right away I began getting very angry and as I thought of the ridiculous bills I received from TSTT over the past few months, simply as a consequence of trying to stay in contact with a loved one, I could not help but get even more upset. The truth is, the TSTT bills, were more befitting to that of a mortgage payment and I really don’t have a lot of cash to throw around. Though I made more long distance calls than normal, I do not think my usage was excessive. TSTT has been able to manipulate us for the past few decades, in a bold, insensitive and infuriating manner, blocking competition that may have very well put the cost of telecommunications in its’ proper perspective. This is tantamount to economic enslavement. We all pay for the Internet service that TSTT provides, therefore we are entitled to enjoy the facilities accessible to us through this service. By blocking voice communication over the Internet, TSTT is providing partial Internet service, a move that may very well be outside the boundaries of the law. The irony is that TSTT can provide much lower long distance and domestic calling rates. However, the large inefficient and costly infrastructure they have put in place over the years is now proving to be an obstacle to everyone enjoying reasonable long distance rates; their problem has become our problem, which of course is unacceptable.

In this country of ours, there seems to be absolutely no consumer protection whatsoever. Not long ago I had to purchase a  replica car part for three hundred dollars, because the car dealership dealer had the equivalent part at over two thousand dollars. With practically every purchase made in this country we the consumers are literally robbed of our money. Let’s face it, we are taken advantage of in practically every area, including the ever increasing service charges from the banks, the list can go on and on and the politicians don’t really seem to be too concerned, they seem to be sitting quietly on the sideline hoping issue like this (TSTT), will simply disappear into thin air. As a society matures and develops, technological advances are supposed to benefit the people of the society, people’s standard of living should improve, but in our case, this is not so. Most people I know say their standard of living decreases as the years go by and most of us are now trying desperately hard to stay ahead of inflation, but too many are failing.

We the people need to start standing up and demanding true reform and liberalisation in Trinidad and Tobago, so that the leaders, sluggish civil service and arrogant attitudes of major monopolies like TSTT toward the citizens will change. I work hard for a living, have not had a raise for the last ten years and I must say, finding it hard to maintain a decent standard of living. I would like to appeal to the public at large to take up the struggle for true liberalisation of the telecommunication market in this oppressive country of ours, because the figure on your phone bill should never ever be remotely close to that of a mortgage payment. It seems plain and obvious to me that the people who are supposed to protect us from this type of injustice really do not care. Therefore, it is essential that we learn to stand up for our rights. Fellow citizens you can all be paying far less for your International calls, let us force the Government to liberalise the telecommunications market. It is time we all wake up and fight for our right to a decent standard of living.

FRANK WILLIAMS
Port-of-Spain