Bermuda Regulatory Authority Holds First Meeting
The new Regulatory Authority of Bermuda came into existence on Monday. The Authority is charged with opening up Bermuda’s telecommunications sector to greater competition under a modern regulatory framework.
At the Authority’s first meeting on Monday morning [Jan 28], it was agreed that information technology executive D. Kent Stewart, who has been a member of the Telecommunications Commission since 1999, would be Chairman of its Board of Commissioners. The other two Commissioners are lawyer John Cunningham and retired executive Carl Musson.
The CEO of the Authority is Philip Micallef, a Maltese who has had extensive experience in the telecommunications industry in Europe and Malta, and who was Executive Chairman of the Malta Communications Authority, responsible for electronic communications in that country. Biographical information about Mr Micallef and the three Commissioners is attached to this press release.
Mr Stewart said “Bermuda’s telecommunications industry has been constrained for years, because it has been governed by regulations that were designed for conditions that no longer exist. Everybody understands that in telephone, television and internet technology, the pace of development is remarkably quick, and shows every sign of speeding up, not slowing down. New technology is introduced one month, and overtaken by newer technology the next.
“We can’t afford to have a regulatory framework that forces us to play catch-up all the time. We must ensure that it is able to adjust to change as change occurs. And of course, the reason we regulate the industry in the first place is to make sure that the interests of consumers, businesses and Bermuda’s economy are kept at the top of our list of priorities.
“One of the first things we are charged with doing by our enabling legislation is doing away with the old Bermuda regime of licensing carriers to take part only in narrow segments of the industry – long distance carriers in their segment, telephone service providers in their segment, internet providers in theirs and Cablevision in its segment. Those restrictions, these days, are keeping Bermuda consumers from getting the price and efficiency dividends that consumers elsewhere enjoy.
“In a few months, carriers will be issued new licences allowing them to offer whatever services they feel they want to offer. Bundling services together…that is, offering telephone, television and internet services together under one commercial roof, for example, will become part of the Bermuda telecommunications scene in the next few months. We hope and expect that consumers will benefit from lower prices and more innovative, efficient services as a result.”
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