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By Fay Simmons Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net Family Island Chamber of Commerce chiefs have renewed calls for improved telecommunications and utility services outside New Providence. Pedro Rolle, immediate past chairman of the Exuma Chamber of Commerce, said communication systems are “one of the most frustrating” parts of operating a business on the Family Islands. Speaking at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’a (BCCEC) National Conclave of Chambers of Commerce, Mr Rolle said the service provided by both the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Aliv is poor, making it extremely difficult to operate businesses or work remotely effectively. He said for any meaningful economic or business development to happen in the Family Islands, there must be a dependable communications system in place. “I don't know what your experiences are with BTC in your Family Islands, but ours is crap. It's a challenge. If we want to really make a difference, and we can talk about working remotely and doing all of these things, or we want to, we can have the capitalists who are willing to go ahead and do so. We can have people who are willing to relocate to the Family Islands and have that as their place of work. But if we don't have meaningful and reliable communication systems, it's a waste of time,” said Mr Rolle. “I think it's one of the most frustrating things that we are continuing to encounter is that the communication system, the reliability of it, is not very good.” Mr Rolle added that many businesses are now turning to alternatives such as Starlink to get reliable service. “And I don't know what your experience is... more and more now people are going to Starlink. And It upsets me for a number of reasons that we have to go that route. But if we want to be successful in our businesses, we need to do what we need to do in order to have our businesses succeed,” he said. Thomas Sands, President of the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce, said that while the island is seeing a significant level of international investment - the greatest for decades - the island is not fully prepared to meet expectations. Highlighting an outdated and deteriorating energy grid, Mr Sands said Eleuthera’s infrastructure is in a serious state of disrepair. While the investment interest is positive and welcomed, he noted that the island must “step up their game” to rise to the challenge. “Eleuthera is thankful for the much-needed civil infrastructure projects currently in progress on the island. Unfortunately, given the age of the existing infrastructure, the lack of maintenance and the legacy of poor management and planning, we are in a state of crisis,” said Mr Sands. “Eleuthera, once the underdog economy, is experiencing a level of significant international investment that has not been seen in over two generations, and frankly, we are not prepared. These investments, which we have signed on to wholeheartedly, are positive, but require that we all step up our game to meet international expectations and service levels.” Mr Sands said that businesses in Eleuthera are constantly struggling due to unreliable and inconsistent infrastructure, and that if changes are not made companies will continue to face significant challenges in trying to operate effectively. “Eleuthera businesses today often operate in a constant state of trauma and crisis, forced to invest in back-up systems for nearly every essential utility. Rising costs and expanding regulations only add to the strain, especially when the island's critical infrastructure remains inconsistent, unreliable, insufficient to support the level of development it is required to sustain. This cannot continue,” said Mr Sands.
