A new look for TATT

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) seems to be moving in the right direction. At a news conference on Friday, new TATT chairman Khalid Hassanali announced that the Draft Broadcast Code would be re-written and that new companies in the fields of cell phone services, television and radio broadcasts, and internet services have applied for licences. While it is too early to judge how all this will play out, there is no doubt that the TATT under the stewardship of former chairman Ralph Henry had created a very negative image for itself. So Mr Hassanali has a challenging task ahead of him to repair the damage caused by Dr Henry and his sidekick, John Prince.

These two gentlemen brought an authoritarian perspective to the business of media that was entirely out of sync with the requirements of a modern industry and, indeed, a modern society. Nor did they even mitigate their paternalism with any sort of competence. The TATT now has to re-do the Draft Broadcast Code because no competent media persons were consulted (or, if they were, their advice ignored) before the Code was put out for public comment. The backward provisions in that document caused a furore among media organisations. Then, mere weeks ago, Mr Prince pulled the plug on a new local cable TV station the day before it was due to begin broadcasting — this even though the station in question had been advertising for months beforehand. That matter was resolved in one day — suggesting that Mr Prince had created a bureaucratic mountain out of a molehill. This kind of thing cannot go on in a country where the telecommunications area is apparently set to expand to undreamed horizons.

The TATT, and by extension the Government, must understand the key part this industry will play in the development of Trinidad and Tobago. As the now-hackneyed phrase has it, this is the Information Age, and that means that the efficient transmission of information is absolutely essential to economic and social development. So the opening up of the telecommunications market to competition should result in telephone, media and internet services which are both cheaper and more efficient. The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has occupied a monopoly position for far too long, and there can be little doubt that this restricts the country’s economic competitiveness. Now, before year’s end, there should be two more providers of mobile phone services - and we would at once recommend that the government consider the usefulness of a second land-line company as well.

But opening up the market is only step one. The TATT must also understand the ideological perspective it brings to this new era. Mr Hassanali spoke about the new Code guaranteeing the Constitutional right of the freedom of the press, perhaps forgetting that the Constitution is the ultimate legal guarantee. All the TATT can do is reinforce that enshrined right — indeed, as a matter of principle, they must do so. But he also said that the Code would ensure that local journalists exercise responsibility to the public in the conduct of their duties — again, perhaps a slip of the mind in its implication that foreign journalists automatically do so. We entirely agree with the idea of responsible journalism, but we hope Mr Hassanali understands that, when there is a conflict between these two ideals, a progressive authority must always favour freedom. So the TATT faces considerable challenges, both technical and political in the coming months. We look forward to seeing how it handles its new responsibilities.