Smart testing 3G this month; interconnection talks still deadlocked

Privately-owned Belizean cellco SpeedNet Communications (Smart) intends to begin testing its new 3G mobile network on 15 August, following investment of around USD25 million in advanced technology. Local newspaper The Reporter writes that Smart says its 3G launch has suffered delays because of deadlock over an interconnection agreement with government-controlled rival Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), which has dragged on for over a year. BTL countered by issuing a press release stating that it has not denied interconnection to Smart. A Supreme Court decision on 31 March ordered the pair to enter into a new round of negotiations over interconnection, and in the event of failure to reach a mutual agreement the regulator, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), must then impose its own interconnection formula. The deadline set by the court was 27 July, but both companies reportedly confirmed that they had not been issued with new wholesale rates by the PUC by that date.