A Bill for The Telecommunications Act was introduced in the Parliament at the end of 1999 and passed early in the New Year.

The Act will create a new legal regulatory framework for telecommunications in The Bahamas, remove the monopoly rights of the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (Batelco) and establish a licensing regime for telecommunications.

This legislation paves the way for privatisation of the local ‘phone company. The Governor General is expected to sign the Act into law within the first quarter of the year.