By Belize Live News Staff: The most telling document of the whole Speednet saga might be the last one: the letter BTL’s chairman sent his own staff the day after Cabinet said no.
Markhelm Lizarraga does not litigate the loss. “We respect Cabinet’s decision and the process through which it was reached,” he writes, thanking employees for months of work on a deal now “behind us.” No appeal, no bitterness. Chapter closed.
Then comes the sentence that confirms what Speednet claimed and every customer should note. The PUC has ruled BTL a dominant provider, and in the chairman’s own words, that “has fundamentally changed the environment in which we operate,” with new obligations, oversight and constraints. Translation: the referee is now on the field, whistle out, watching the biggest player.
Lizarraga’s answer is the pivot BTL has been promising for years, from Telco to TechCo. Cloud, cybersecurity, digital services, enterprise solutions. If BTL cannot buy its growth, it intends to build it, and the chairman is rallying his people for exactly that: stronger execution, discipline, “one team.”
Put the two letters of the past two days side by side and Belize has something it has not had in a long while: both telecoms publicly committed to winning customers rather than eliminating each other. Speednet promises heavy investment and affordable prices. BTL promises service excellence and innovation.
Competition only works if the country holds both to it. Consider this the receipt.
