Beyond the current wage negotiations, Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath says government is also focused on changing the direction of the telecommunications company’s business model.
According to Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath, the company, which he says had been on a downward trajectory, has now returned to profitability since the government took office.
He said that profitability must be accompanied by changes to the way TSTT operates, as the company seeks to generate new revenue and strengthen its financial position.
“I’ve indicated TSTT moved in a downward spiral. That has been in reverse since we have come into office. We have registered a profit. But that profit must also be reflected in changes that a company needs to make in terms of the way that it operates. It cannot continue to just spend and not make money or look to make money, because it is a for-profit company. That’s one of the major differences with TSTT compared to many of the other state enterprises, where they depend on government subvention for their survival.”
The Minister stated that the next phase involves moving TSTT beyond traditional telecommunications and into a broader technology-based business.
“What will then happen is that we will focus on new technologies. The Honorable Prime Minister has been speaking and has introduced and reintroduced last year the laptop program into our nation’s schools. And therefore, what you’re going to see happen is an evolution of technology happening here in Trinidad and Tobago, where they’re coming on stream of the data centers by utilizing smart classrooms, et cetera.
We are now going to change out TSTT into a technology-based company, where we are going to harness new technologies, look at new markets, whether it’s within the Caribbean, Latin America, or any other place, where we can partner to ensure that we host data of other countries that look to Miami and other places in their First World countries to host their data.”