Cable Bahamas was blasted by the FNM Chairman Darron Cash as being “wantonly arrogant” in its response to the rejection of its monthly SuperBasic TV rate increase proposal.
In an article in The Tribune, Mr. Cash indicated that, during the Utilities Regulatiion & Competition Authority’s (URCA) consultation process, Cable Bahamas had not been sensitive to concerns raised by consumers regarding quality of service
In that article Mr. Cash was quoted: “Cable Bahamas has taken a fairly liberal response to the question of their obligation to put cable TV throughout the country, trying to lean more to the nuanced letter of the agreement as opposed to the spirit of the agreement.”
Mr Cash said the responsefrom Cable Bahamas to URCA’s decision was “inappropriate” and “typical of the wanton arrogance that Bahamians have seen from that company for many years”.
Cable Bahamas expressed frustration and called URCA’s decision “disappointing”.
David Burrows, head of marketing at Cable Bahamas was interviewed by The Tribune and during which time he accused the URCA of operating “inside, outside and above the law” over a decision that will cost the company “millions and millions of dollars”.
Mr Burrows said Cable Bahamas was “outraged” that URCA rejected its request for an $8 monthly increase to the residential SuperBasic TV service.
The Tribune article quoted Mr. Cash: “I commend URCA for doing the right thing in this instance. The Bahamian people should feel vindicated as well; this is yet another example of the impact that the powerful voice of the people can have in shaping public policy.”
Mr Cash said Cable Bahamas’ behaviour reflects the “typical demonstration of hubris that Bahamians have seen from foreign investors who got lucky enough to acquire monopolistic powers in small developing countries”.