As Sofi TV storm subsides, Gibtelecom says they are a private company owned by Govt through the Gibraltar Savings Bank

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 Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 11:12

As the Sofi TV storm subsides, with everyone blaming everyone else for loss of channels, Gibtelecom says they are a private company owned by Government through the Gibraltar Savings Bank.

Sofi, which itself is owned by Gibtelecom, say they are a private company and refuse to say how much they have spent on promotion.

Given that Sofi is Government-owned, and public money is involved, PANORAMA asked a number of questions.

To begin with, they said the following: Gibtelecom is prepared to answer your questions but not because of your analysis set out above with which the Company do not agree. Gibtelecom is a private company, whose shares are at this time owned by the Government through the Gibraltar Savings Bank. The Government’s involvement with the business is very much at arm’s length. Gibtelecom is not in receipt of any public monies other than those received from some Government departments or other public bodies for providing them with telecoms services in what is now the highly competitive and regulated Gibraltar market.

QUESTIONS for Gibtelecom

When was Sofi launched?

Sofi was launched in June 2018

How many paid customers does it have?

Gibtelecom Sofi is transmitted over broadband technology. The Company estimates it now only has about half of the Gibraltar residential fixed broadband market (source: GRA reports on Universal service Obligations 2018), with a quarter of these subscribing to the Sofi TV service.

How much has it spent in promotion, providing a breakdown?

Sofi is promoted as part of Gibtelecom’s advertising of communication services locally. As a private company in a highly competitive market, Gibtelecom is not prepared to disclose potentially commercially sensitive data on “promotion” costs.

Where has the money come from?

All the funding for Sofi has come from Gibtelecom’s own resources, generated through selling communication services.

PUBLIC MONEY REVELATION

*Given the revelation that the shares of Gibtelecom are owned by the Government through the Gibraltar Savings Bank, which is public money held in the savings bank, should Gibtelecom and/or Sofi encounter financial difficulties at any time, how would this affect the public's money held in the savings bank? And given the foregoing what kind of a private company do Gibtelecom and Sofi think they are? This is another question they might wish to give explanations about.

30-01-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR