By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Cable Bahamas has accused regulators of “underplaying” the arrival of Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet service as it will “open up a new frontier of competition” by attracting other satellite operators.

The BISX-listed communications provider, in its reply to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) review of fixed services, used the upstart wireless Internet provider’s arrival to bolster its case that it should not be subjected to price caps or designated as having significant market power (SMP) in the fixed broadband Internet market.

Arguing that Starlink is not just targeting Family Island consumers, but also seeking to penetrate the major Bahamian population centres of New Providence and Grand Bahama, Cable Bahamas asserted: “Cable Bahamas believes URCA underplays the significance of the market entry by Starlink in the fixed broadband market.

“Low earth orbit (LEO) technology allows Starlink to provide fixed broadband services in areas where it is difficult (or too expensive) to deploy broadband services over terrestrial networks, and this is a useful feature in The Bahamas.

“However, Starlink’s presence is not limited to such areas and there is evidence of Starlink’s services across The Bahamas, including densely populated areas in New Providence and Grand Bahama. Starlink’s recent price reductions show that it wishes to compete with Cable Bahamas and BTC’s broadband offerings, and so URCA must now view this market as being (at least) prospectively competitive.....

“Cable Bahamas notes that market entry by Starlink is significant as this opens up a new frontier of competition in all of The Bahamas. Starlink is not the only satellite provider of broadband services, and further potential entry by its competitors like Viasat and HughesNet should be considered as part of this market review.”

Cable Bahamas also alleged that it was at a competitive disadvantage against both Starlink and BTC by asserting both are part of larger global conglomerates while it is a standalone operator unable to draw upon the deeper pockets of a competitor.

“Cable Bahamas notes that relative to the main competitors in this market - BTC and Starlink - its overall size puts Cable Bahamas at a strong disadvantage,” the BISX-listed communications provider argued.

“Both BTC (through Liberty Global) and Starlink have global operations, hence expertise, scale and access to finance that puts them in a superior competitive position to a small independent local operator like Cable Bahamas.

“Being part of an international group also allows BTC and Starlink to utilise their international experience with the introduction of new services to the market, improvements to distribution and sales networks, and to create scale and scope economies in other areas like branding and procurement,” Cable Bahamas argued.

“As a small provider with a national footprint, Cable Bahamas is not in a position to do so. These other factors, therefore, provide additional evidence that Cable Bahamas is faced with strong and effective competition in this market that offer an effective constraint on Cable Bahamas’ behaviour in the fixed broadband market.”

Starlink has acted as a disruptor to the Bahamian communications market, and attracted significant attention from both incumbents - Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) - as evidence of their concerns at the escalating competitive threat it provides.

Chantelle Sands, head of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and Family Island innovations for Aliv Business, recently told the Harbour Island Business Outlook conference that the BISX-listed communications provider is closely monitoring Starlink’s pricing and product offering to ensure it remains competitive.

Asked by an attendee “why we should keep with Aliv and Cable Bahamas”, given the ease of accessing and acquiring Starlink’s services, Ms Sands sought to make a convincing case by pointing to alleged weaknesses in the wireless satellite provider’s business model. She replied: “We are certainly watching Starlink and comparing their service to our service.

“Starlink being a wireless means of connectivity doesn’t give you 100 percent connectivity year-round. We are in the hurricane belt. We have weather a lot, so persons who do have Starlink you will have experienced some congestion or latency or disruption in service.

“While persons may have been driven to take Starlink because of cost, because of convenience, because we know we don’t have infrastructure nationwide and it has become popular.... We are comparing the rates.” This did not convince the attendee who asked the earlier question, as he replied that customers “can just go online and purchase the thing” from Starlink “and it’s there”.

They contrasted this with the “typical experience” with Cable Bahamas and Aliv, which saw customers have to call a central office, sometimes take several attempts to get through, and then receive an installation date “sometime in the future” which required the prospective client to be at home. He questioned why Aliv and Cable Bahamas could not implement a system where “you pick up the box, plug it in and you’re good to go”.

Ms Sands, in reply, admitted: “We’re not there yet but we are looking at means of getting the wireless products to our customers at a faster rate; like you said, order online and it’s delivered. We are looking at that. Unfortunately, we do not have stores on every island. We are looking at that to have a means if someone orders through our business solutions line that we can ship the device over to you.”

The Cable Bahamas executive also argued that “Starlink does not have a customer service team in The Bahamas to help you when you have a problem” and that, while all customer payments to the satellite provider are exported outside the country to the US, those to the BISX-listed communications provider remain here.

“When you talk about keeping staff employed and laying people off, that’s it right there,” Ms Sands said. Starlink, though, has been particularly popular when it comes to providing Internet connectivity and service in remote Family Islands that are not covered by BTC and Cable Bahamas/Aliv infrastructure.