Bahamas Telecommunications Company customers can now view their bills and the Yellow and White Pages online, Leon Williams, acting president and chief executive officer announced Tuesday in a press conference at the company’s headquarters.
Customers will also be able to view cellular bills online, as the company prepares to introduce Phase Three of the project, which would facilitate online bill payment and application for service. Customers wishing to view bills online will have to complete a registration process.
BTC was unable to give a visual presentation of the website to reporters because of technical difficulties. The company assured however that the problems were internal and customers outside should have no problems accessing the site.
“Today we are launching a part of Phase Two of the website’s continuing development,” Mr. Williams said. “Now BTC customers will be able to access bills directly as well as the Yellow Pages and White Pages online.”
The soon-to-be privatized company, for which the choice of a “strategic partner” has yet to be made, reports that it has replicated the entire directory online at no additional cost to subscribers.
The website directory will be very easy to navigate, as it will follow the same procedure for searching any publication, Mr. Williams said.
The new development will be especially useful for companies that missed the opportunity to advertise in next year’s directory, he noted. The inclusion process starts in January and closes at the end of August.
Businesses obtaining telephone services outside this period find themselves having to wait an entire year before their telephone numbers or advertisements can be included in the directory.
The new online service will allow businesses immediate access to the online directory as new listings are updated to the database on a regular basis, Mr. Williams said.
“The use of this electronic medium has given BTC the opportunity to add products to the Yellow Pages’ advertising portfolio,” he advised.
The company will also be providing hyperlinks to websites, banner ads, e-mail addresses and full streaming video.
However, these services will carry additional costs and the company is presently working out a process of coupling the new features with print advertisements into a pricing package.
The White Page listing will remain free of charge.
By Martella Matthews, The Nassau Guardian
