Belmopan, Belize 29 November (Belizean.com) Belize's Telecommunications industry seems headed for some turbulent times as the two elephants of the industry face off for what promises to be a long term confrontation. As the old Swahili saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers and the grass in this case, are the thousands of Belizeans who rely upon the services provided by these two companies for their daily communication needs.
After an apparent unsuccessful bid to wrest business away from Smart using propaganda and business promotions, BTL decided to pull off the gloves and play dirty. The gist of the whole matter is that Prime Minister Dean Barrow realizes now, that BTL cannot possibly survive in an atmosphere of fair competition. From the outside, it looked oh so easy and rosy but having grabbed that tiger by the tail, the Barrow Administration now seems unable to let go or hold on.
In his presentation to the House upon springing his surprise, Prime Minister Barrow made a number of promises that now seems little more than hot air. The first promise and primary reason given for the takeover was that litigation problems would go away. What a joke! Seems that Michael Ashcroft can now remind Dean Barrow of the very comments that he, Barrow, made when he stated in the House, "he doesn't know the friend that he is dealing with." Ashcroft is no patsy and is not likely to go quietly into the night as Barrow was obviously hoping for.