THEY SAY THAT the more things change, the more they remain the same. Seems that we in Barbados have very short memories.
Do you remember when we had a single telephone and Internet service provider? Do you remember when we had poor Internet service and snail speeds but paid top dollar? Do you remember when we had to pay for both ends of a cellphone call with talk time rounded up to the next minute? Do you remember when we had to put up with rude customer service, with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude?
Now, do you remember when all that changed? When we opened up our telecommunications market to fair competition, that’s when. Things changed virtually overnight, as we the customers were courted and feted for our patronage. At last we had a choice. Finally, our telecommunications service providers were responsive, customer- focused and at least made some attempt at offering a decent service at competitive prices.
Then something changed again – our bungling politicians and regulators sanctioned a merger and we had one service provider again, and things went back as they were.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
– Andrea Graves-Bure