Nassau, Bahamas
- On Wednesday, November 12, 2014 the Government
of The Bahamas took yet another step towards fulfilling their promise to reform
policies and modernize The Bahamas through the liberalization of the cellular
mobile market in The Bahamas. As such, the Government of The Bahamas is now inviting
interested persons to apply to operate a cellular mobile network and provide
cellular mobile services in The Bahamas.
In
accordance with Section 30 of the Communication Act, the Minister responsible
for the Electronic Communications Sector has chosen the method for allocating
and pricing cellular mobile spectrum. Consequently, the Government will conduct
a
competitive selection process which will result in the licensing
of a second cellular mobile operator in The Bahamas.
This process is outlined in a
Request for Proposals (RFP).
The goal of the RFP is to attract
new business to The Bahamas that will improve cellular and mobile
accessibility, reliability and provide competitive price alternatives.
When the Government has completed
the selection process, the successful applicant will be granted an Individual
Operating Licence and an Individual Spectrum Licence by the sector regulator,
the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA). For the purpose of this process, spectrum has been made available in the
700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1700/2100 MHz and 1900 MHz Bands.
In order to participate in the selection process and to obtain further
details of how the selection process will be carried out, interested persons
must register for a Request for Proposals (RFP) package. The closing date for
the submission of Proposals will be
11th
February 2015.
The invitation notice, registration
details and an overview of the selection process are available on the website
of the Cellular Liberalisation Task Force, http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/cellularliberalisation.
