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Senior Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Transport, Physical Development, and Urban Renewal Stephenson King is hoping for an amicable resolution after telecommunications company Digicel informed postpaid customers of an impending price adjustment.
On Tuesday, King accused Digicel of not adhering to the correct protocol in its price adjustment notice.
Postpaid customers reported that the company informed them about a 5% monthly subscription fee increase as it deals with the impact of substantial increases in business costs.
According to a company advisory, the bill due on December 29, 2022, would reflect the changes if applicable.
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“I have seen those notices going around and obviously Digicel has not followed the correct protocol,” Minister King told reporters when they raised the matter during an impromptu interview.
The former Saint Lucia Prime Minister noted that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) and the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) would receive such applications from service providers.
He explained that the bodies would seek justification for the service providers’ pricing requests.
King noted that in Digicel’s notice to its customers, the company had cited reasons for proposing the increase.
But he disclosed that the NTRC is now looking at the proposal.
King told reporters that he had spoken to ECTEL, the regional body, which is also examining the matter.
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And he is awaiting a response from both entities to understand what Digicel is proposing.
According to King, there would then be a determination regarding whether to appeal to the telecommunications company indicating that now is not the time for the price hike.
“But I have also reached out to Digicel themselves and I have had a conversation with them and hopefully we’ll be able to resolve this matter amicably,” the Castries North MP told reporters.
And although Digicel has already notified customers regarding the planned price hike, King declared that nothing prevents the regulator from halting the company’s intentions.
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