while it will take some time before another operator is up and running, depending on the process run by the government, this is good news, as the whole reason for liberalization is to place the power in the hands of us the consumers. better pricing and better service should follow. I don't think BTC/LIME have done a bad job to be honest....anyone who travels knows there is no such thing as perfect cell service, including those most outspoken about it. in fact we mustn't forget that 2-3 years ago, data was at a snail pace and now exploded - everyone seems to have smartphones now. Gvt has reaped some nice dividends no doubt...but now we will see as competition arrives, that BTC is not a valuable as it is made out to be. and as for BEC vs BTC reliability of service.....well, say no more. all in all I think this will end well for the consumer, who will now have a choice andwill get more in their pocket as a result of the cheaper more reliable cell service

as for the BCPOU, they are not in this for the consumer or the Bahamian people, just themselves. it is this self serving attitude that sends them continuously in the wrong direction. They should now be thinking, hey, new operator equals more jobs for Bahamians in the telecom sector....and if it is true that Digicel does not have any unions, maybe this means their staff are happy not being unionized?

So this ridiculous government has spent money buying back 2% of BTC just so they can go ahead and open up competition to private companies. They should have been selling what was left of their share and then opening it up for competition. Does anyone in power actually think, or did they find another way to take under the table money from this setup too?

Tell Uncle Tom Marlon Johnson , C&W .................... F*%#@KKKKK OFF. We need some real competition to these goons

Oh i didn't know the government regained ownership of BTC? Book Comrade "funny-man" Marlon for a gig at some comedy venue cause he made all we laugh when he said: "Admitting that the monopolistic company does anticipate some market share loss, Marlon Johnson, vice-president of marketing at BTC, said work is already in motion to minimise any negative affects of "foreign" companies.

Ha ha!

Have you noticed the number of dropped calls on cell phones recently? Well it actually started since C&W took over. Despite the company bragging about how many millions of dollars they spent upgrading the system you cannot be on a call for two minutes without the call dropping or the party you are talking to becoming inaudible or vice versa. Be Aware that EVERY dropped call means more revenue for BTC when you have to call the party back.

Yes everyone is looking forward to competition entering the marketplace for BTC. Again, many hope it is not Digicel, because this company seems to have policies that duplicate C&W. Many stores that sold cell phones can no longer do so because they cannot compete with BTC so they (BTC) may now have to fight with a giant of their own size. And those who sell phone cards and other BTC products can now go with the company that offers the best margin and allows the a greater profit.

As for service, there is doubt that a new company coming in the market will offer 'that much better' service, at least not immediately, simply because rather than choosing to build a communications system from the ground up, the new company may prefer to piggyback on BTC's existing equipment. If it is faulty or unreliable, then the new company will have similar problems of system outages and dropped calls, and dead spots with no service that BTC has.

But pricing may be another matter...Why is there such a vast difference in the price of a home phone service from Cable Bahamas and one from BTC?

APRIL FOOLS JOKE!!!! least we forget: The government is a major shareholder in BTC! Should they then be in charge of liberalizing the communications market and/or selecting the competitor that will be competing against their own company, or should this be done by an independent body?