Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo told local media that there is a need to set up an independent regulator by an Act of Parliament to regulate the telecommunications industry.
Mr. Lilo said to go that path would mean an opening up of the local telecommunications industry to competition. The minister said with competition Solomon Islanders can expect to enjoy the benefits of competition which currently is unavailable because of the monopoly held by Our Telekom.However, the Finance Minister reiterated that having competition can only be beneficial to customers if there is an independent regulator.
"Right now we are complaining about the price of Telecommunication in the country, and it has been like that until such time that we have an independent regulator, that regulates on pricing and also sets up the right kind of environment for competitors to come in." Lilo said.
He said without an independent regulator there it would be relatively difficult to have an efficient telecommunications service in the country.