States-owned telecoms would have struggled

In his defence, I have to say that on other subjects he writes on, he often makes some telling and constructive comment.

On the subject of telecoms, I do feel it is time to put forward some balance, and also to comment on his letter where he says that it is unthinkable that Jersey Telecoms (JT) would ever operate here (Guernsey).

It may be that Guernsey Telecoms was sold at a 'bargain price'. A modern comparison may be the recent flotation/share price of the Royal Mail. But in both cases – how much was it worth?

There is little doubt that with the tremendous advances in the telecommunications field which were taking place in the immediate years before the sale, and in particular since then, that a States-owned telecoms, as it was then, with all the culture which went with it, would have struggled to take us where we are today.

I recall regular criticism from the expanding finance industry, let alone other sectors, that Guernsey was not keeping up with the rapid advances being made which were available in other locations.

Perhaps if that had been embraced – and in this context, would it not have been better to have worked in liaison with Jersey, rather than stating that this would have been 'unthinkable'? – it could be that we would not be faced with the issues which are the subject of these current customer satisfaction surveys.

Perhaps then the Guernsey States may have been better placed when the 'for sale' notice was hoisted.

What price do you put on a business, other than the infrastructure – buildings/island-wide cabling which may not have been the most up-to-date?

The perception at the time was nobody knew what capital was going to be required to deliver the type of services and infrastructure needed – and could we afford it or even want to?

With the spending restraints, it does not bear thinking about if the utility was today in 'public ownership'.

Given the recent criticism of our present providers, I hear you ask: are we any further forward?

There is no answer to that – it may be a question to pose to Deputy Kevin Stewart. Arguably, if somebody like him had been 'around', the island may not have found itself in the position it did at the time and prior to the sale.

It would be nice to think we would not have found ourselves in the position where we are constantly having our roads dug up because the two main providers cannot agree to own/share jointly use facilities/infrastructure.

Here you can blame the States because the providers should have been made to agree to this before being licensed.

Name and address withheld.