The Nassau Guardian - www.thenassauguardian.com.com

At last Bahamian financial services professionals can say with confidence, when asked, "no problem". No problem to the question will my phone work here?

Until now Bahamian hosts have had to laugh off their embarrassment as their visiting colleagues and clients could not use their cell phones.

Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has finally moved to install 3 G technology. This is the technology that makes it possible for bankers, lawyers, accountants and high net worth individuals who are visiting The Bahamas to be able to whip out their fancy mobile phones, their Blueberrys, their PDAs and start talking or messaging without a hitch - just as if they were in their own network back in the USA.

BTC has awarded New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies Inc., an AT&T spin off, a contract to install high-speed three G network in The Bahamas. Three G is the name given to the third generation of wireless and broadband communication that currently rules the airwaves.

With over 125,000 customers of wireless services and millions tourists visiting the country each year, BTC is upgrading its services which will help the telecommunications company to better serve its customers - Bahamian and visitor alike.

The new network could also boost BTC's ability to provide more reliable and faster internet service thus offering real competition to Cable Bahamas' Coralwave internet service.

Light Reading, an industry online publication describing the new network said that it would now give the BTC the ability to offer high-speed data services such as "high-quality video-on-demand, as well as the ability to download large files" without having to wait forever and what everyone wants lightening speed access to the Internet and intranet.

BTC is installing the CDMA 2000 One X and One Xev-DO network system which will deliver speedier wireless broadband services at rates up to 2.4Mb/s.

Antonio Stubbs, Vice President of planning and engineering at BTC explained the logic behind choosing the network to TELECOMWEB. Mr. Stubbs said that BTC had opted for this model because it would allow the 4 million visitors to The Bahamas to be able to use their communications gadgets.

"We are very excited by the opportunity to offer advanced, high-quality mobile voice and high speed data services to visitors coming to our beautiful islands carrying their CDMA phones, PDA's and laptop PC cards," Mr. Stubbs said

In addition to New Providence, the commercial and tourism centre of The Bahamas, the network will be deployed in hotels, airports and other key areas in the islands of Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Bimini and Exuma.

Commenting in Light Record on the network's characteristics, Javier Falcon, Vice President of Lucent Technologies for the Caribbean, said, "Our state-of-the-art solution will allow BTC to expand their services offerings and deliver on their commitment to offer the highest quality services to their subscribers and visitors to The Bahamas."

Similarly, Lucent's Regional Sales Director for the Caribbean, Heidy Frank, also commenting in Light Record, explained that it was a combination of a great product, strong customer relations, dedicated support and perseverance that won Lucent the contract.

"Lucent's solution provides BTC with a cost-effective and easy way to manage the network and introduce new capabilities and services," she said.

Two weeks ago BTC announced it would be taking steps "towards realising the internal and external initiatives taken by the company to foster improvement on every level of the communications spectrum" during the launch of the Hello Phone card.

In recent months BTC has made strides to improve its services and attractiveness to customers, which included slashing its phone rates for international dialling services as well as signing a $60 million contract to install fibre optic submarine cable in the southern Bahamas, establishing the infrastructure for broadband services for that part of The Bahamas.

The value of the contract has not been disclosed. The Nassau Guardian attempted to reach a representative from BTC for comment but was unable to up to press time.