By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A Family Island installer has warned that the likes of Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) may find themselves “out of business” due to a “major” surge in demand for Starlink.

Erick Darling, owner of HBS Systems, said his company is seeing a rapid increase in demand for Starlink’s satellite Internet installations, especially among Family Island residents who have grown tired of poor service from traditional telecommunications and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Darling warned that Cable Bahamas and BTC might find themselves “out of business” in the provision of Internet services on several Family Islands as residents are exploring the satellite rival due to frequent connectivity issues.

“The demand has been so huge that we can’t even handle it. Especially on the Out Islands like Eleuthera, Acklins, the Internet is horrible, so people have been going crazy for Starlink. We do at least one new Starlink instillation every day,” said Mr Darling.

“Cable Bahamas and BTC might find themselves out of business on some Family Islands, based on the amount of persons who are booking, inquiring and installing. I mean they are just dropping the two of them like water.”

Mr Darling said the major benefit of satellite internet service in The Bahamas is that it provides all residents with a reliable alternative so they no longer have to accept poor service. He explained that, as the market grows, new players such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper and China’s SpaceSail will also provide competition for Starlink and give even more alternatives.

“The service is affordable, fast and consistent, and that means a lot to people who are trying to conduct business. A lot of these people had no choice but to accept bad service. Now they have another option available to them and soon they will have even more satellite internet alternatives,” said Mr Darling.

Kiko Dontchev, vice-president of launch at SpaceX, revealed last week that Starlink has grown to 9,000 commercial users within The Bahamas. He said the company will be donating 56 units to the Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRM) to ensure there is constant communication for first responders, and those affected should a natural disaster strike.

“Starlink has been so critical to allowing folks to have communications when the worst happens,” said Mr Dontchev. “When you don’t have the ability to talk to each other, there’s misinformation spreading. You just want to tell your loved ones, I’m okay.

“Starlink has helped save lives. We’re going to give that feature to The Bahamas. It’s going to be up to them. It’s going to be up to DRM to manage it when there’s an issue or a natural disaster happens. The service is free and allows you to use and talk to your loved ones.”

Both Cable Bahamas and BTC have raised concerns that Starlink could interfere with the sector’s competitiveness and possibly emerge as the country’s next mobile phone provider.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), has rejected concerns that local providers are competing on an “unlevel playing field”. But Cable Bahanas is “unconvinced” that it is receiving regulatory treatment comparable with that enjoyed by Elon Musk, the Tesla and Twitter (X) magnate’s, new market entrant.

“The Cable Bahamas group believes satellite regulation must be equitable and comparable to the telecommunications regulatory regime. The Cable Bahamas group added that it is unconvinced that the playing field is level for the Cable Bahamas group,” URCA revealed of the company’s stance.

Cable Bahamas based this on how much Starlink is paying to URCA for its annual class licence, and queried how much the satellite Internet provider is contributing to the regulator’s budget in percentage terms. It also challenged if “an initial licence award fee was charged and paid for the granting of a licence”, and added that a spectrum-based service was equivalent to introducing a new cellular mobile operator.

URCA, in reply, said Starlink’s licence restricts it to providing broadband Internet services and it is not permitted to offer mobile services in conformity with a policy that restricts the sector to just two operators - Aliv (Cable Bahamas) and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).

“Regarding satellite regulation and the specific inquiries raised, URCA clarifies that Starlink currently provides broadband Internet services at fixed locations in The Bahamas but is not licensed for voice telephony or traditional mobile services,” URCA added.

“The licence conditions imposed on Starlink align with the Government’s policy to refrain from introducing additional competition in the cellular- mobile market. To address concerns regarding transparency, URCA has made the Starlink licence conditions available on our website for public access....

“Starlink is subject to the applicable fees as set out in its licences. On a related note, URCA does not discuss a company’s individual revenue numbers and licence fee payments.”