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The Background
Those of us old enough would remember the state of telecommunication in Guyana
before the advent of GT&T in 1991. As a country, we suffered from the
poorest infrastructure and service.
The technology was obsolete and the equipment antiquated. Social contact,
communication, and business were greatly affected, and many foreign investors
expressed a reluctance to do business in a country with such poor
infrastructure.
Something needed to be done urgently if Guyana were ever to develop.
The telecommunication industry needed to be rescued.
The Birth of GT&T
Towards the end of the 1980s the Government of Guyana took a decision
to privatize telecommunications as part of a broader economic reform programme
and sought the participation of private investors in the sector.
Government advertised for local or foreign investors with access to the
capital, technology, and skills so critically necessary for the revitalization
of the industry.
It was ATN who took up the challenge.
In 1990, the Parties signed an Agreement in which ATN acquired eighty
percent of the telephone company and the Government retained twenty. When this
Agreement was consummated, the new Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company
Limited replaced the Guyana Telecommunication Corporation.
GT&T commenced operations on January 28, 1991.[More]
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