Many consumers and businesses will have seen this announcement, but a few may suffer from ‘survey fatigue’. I fully understand and sympathise with this, but maintain that this telecommunications survey is different and particularly critical!
It really, really is. Why?
To my mind, this survey is less about expressing your views about Sure, as this was thoroughly undertaken in the Starlink Select Committee meetings, and more about fully understanding Sure’s financial model.
Outside of Sure management, there is little understanding of the Falkland Islands’ telecommunications revenues. Even though they were requested, these were not even supplied to the Starlink Select Committee, Regulator or FIG. ‘Commercial Confidentiality’ is usually cited as the reason for these circumstances.
Indeed, Sure Falkland Islands Accounts are not even split out in Sure South Atlantic Limited’s 31st of December 2023 annual financial report, which only includes the aggregate financial performance of Ascension Island, St Helena, and the Falkland Islands operations.
Financial performance is a crucial element that Cambridge Management Consultants must fully understand to create a thorough, realistic, and deliverable strategy plan covering the three years until the end of the Sure exclusive licence. Only with this data will they be able to articulate the upgrade plan everyone on the islands hopes for and expects.
So please, please, let’s see the same level of turnout that we saw with the Starlink Petition earlier this year and provide Cambridge Management Consultants with the core financial information they need to do their work.
It will only take a few minutes, so I encourage you to click the link below and tell them the broadband package you are using and how much you spend each month on telecommunications (only one per household, please).
https://www.cambridgemc.com/falklands-residential
https://www.cambridgemc.com/falklands-businesses.
Thanks so much!
Chris Gare
The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) is asking businesses, charities, and residents of the Falklands to take part in a telecommunications survey, which is being run in conjunction with Cambridge Management Consulting (Cambridge MC). The survey is part of the previously advertised telecommunications review project, incorporating both analysis of the implementation of the Select Committee recommendations on VSAT licensing and assessment of options for the Falklands after the end of the current exclusivity period.
This survey is an essential part of information gathering, giving FIG and Cambridge MC solid data to work from in making recommendations to Executive Council. It is hoped that a large response will be achieved to support this.
Cambridge MC would like to give everyone the opportunity to provide input into the report by describing connectivity experience on the Islands. The survey is split into two audiences; businesses and residents, and covers all aspects of telecommunications. The businesses category includes all non-domestic users, including charities and third-sector organisations.
The survey is only running for a limited time, as FIG and Cambridge MC are working to the deadlines set by the Select Committee. The survey is open until the end of Friday 29th November and should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.
The businesses (and non-domestic users) telecommunications survey is available at: https://www.cambridgemc.com/falklands-businesses. It is requested that each business nominates a single person to reply on their behalf, so only one response is received from each.
The residential telecommunications survey is available at: https://www.cambridgemc.com/falklands-residential. It is requested that each household (i.e. a single set of people sharing a telecommunications subscription) nominates a single person to reply on their behalf, so only one response is received from each.
The online surveys are only available in English. If you would like to receive a digital PDF or paper copy version of the survey in Shona, Tagalog or Spanish please contact Simon Bradshaw at sbradshaw@sec.gov.fk or on 27040.
English language paper versions of the survey are available at the Post Office, where there is also a box for depositing completed paper surveys.
The data collected by Cambridge MC from this survey will be shared with FIG as part of the Telecommunications Consultancy work being undertaken. This data will be restricted to FIG employees that are directly involved and responsible for the Cambridge consultancy work. The results will be used to inform both the reports being produced, and the second stage of public consultations which will be carried out in the first part of 2025.
Chris Gare, OpenFalklands November 2024, copyright OpenFalklands
