NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has announced significant network improvements earmarked across the country, progressing steadily towards deploying a full fiber network nationwide.

The company revealed yesterday its accelerated focus on completing its residential fiber-to-the-home rollout in Grand Bahama and New Providence, alongside major connectivity enhancements for the Family Islands.

BTC reported a 93 percent completion rate of its residential fiber-to-the-home rollout in Grand Bahama by the end of 2023.

Sameer Bhatti, the company's CEO, declared: "We are phasing out our aged copper network. While copper has served as a cornerstone in our business for generations, particularly for landline services, this technology is now obsolete. In areas where both fiber and copper services exist, customers are being upgraded to fiber, offering symmetrical speeds starting at 100 Mbps. We aim to decommission the copper network swiftly, ensuring all our customers enjoy unparalleled speeds and reliability on our fiber network. As we diminish our reliance on copper and expedite our fiber rollout, we will initiate a recruitment drive for additional fiber technicians. I am delighted to report the successful transition of several copper technicians to fiber technicians in recent months, enhancing our capacity to install and repair services."

The fiber network boasts greater energy efficiency compared to copper, rendering it more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This green technology boasts a lower carbon footprint and promises a future-proofed network for generations to come.

BTC is also unveiling the commencement of a new trial aimed at enhancing internet connectivity in the Family Islands. Bhatti stated, "Our Family Islands hold immense importance for us. Last year, we dedicated significant effort to remediation endeavors on several islands, including Exuma, Andros, Cat Island, and Long Island. This new trial will enable us to deliver fast and reliable speeds in a shorter timeframe, using fewer resources. We are enthusiastic about this trial, slated for two of our Family Islands, with plans to fully integrate this new technology into our network within the first half of this year. Further details will follow in the coming weeks."

Bhatti also acknowledged the dedicated team overseeing remediation efforts in Exuma, which concluded at the end of last year. "A team was dispatched to Exuma last year, and I am pleased to announce the completion of landline, mobile, and internet repairs and upgrades in Moss Town, Bay View, George Town Airport, Hooper's Bay, Steventon, Staniel Cay, Williams Town, and Palm Bay. We are diligently working on services in Farmers Hill, Moss Town, and Ferry Bridge, which we aim to complete shortly."

BTC will also introduce upgrades to its customer care and support services in the coming weeks.

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