GPL’s fiber structure in Guyana

Once again the Government of Guyana is hoodwinking the people of Guyana. GPL has announced a need for rate increase to account for the shortfall in revenues. They propose to approach he Public Utilities Commission to grant them an increase in electricity rates.

GPL has been the only Utility that has consistently increased rates over the years.

While hiding under the cover of the losses and rates, the power company is also building a fiber networks across the country for a whopping $45million US dollars. This is being built even as one telephone company built its own network across the country.

The Power Company’s CEO justified his company’s cable being “more secure” than the Telephone Company’s – even though all the international agencies are using the Telephone Company’s cable which seem very “secure and redundant” fiber network. The only advantage GPL’s fiber has over another other fiber cable is that GPL is supposedly running theirs above the high voltage lines – so zero access by would-be vandals. However, GPL do not offer any redundancy and will eventually have to procure such redundancy from another company. What happens to GPL’s top-secured line if a truck crashes into the poles and brings it down?

We have also noticed that the power company is already in the apparent mode to sell capacity in its lines. However no self-respecting company will use this non-redundant system since, in the IT world, redundancy is critical. And, speaking of self-respecting companies, not even the Ministry of Finance, the local and international banks or the top business will risk putting its business on a non-redundant, flawed, Chinese-designed and Government owned system.

And, in mentioning the Chinese, they are building this system in which we expect US-based firms to put their businesses? We can foresee that the Government system will be run by the Guyana’s- IT-Czar-cum-Ramoutar’s son, and who will account for these funds released pre-Ramoutar era?

Coming back to the GPL’s proposed rate increase – this is a smart way to get the consumers to fund the Chinese fiber project. The build of the GPL’s fiber network will increase depreciation cost of the company, thereby reducing their profit, requiring, more money from consumers to meet that shortfall – so, in the final analysis, Guyanese consumers and politicians have to decide NOW if GPL must go through with a waste of resources which will be paid for by the unsuspecting public.