In a dramatic display of opposition on August 4, 2026, all four independent senators of Belize have publicly challenged and walked out of a Senate sitting in Belmopan to protest the greenlight given to Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) for its planned $80 million acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited, better known as SMART. The bipartisan group of lawmakers — Kevin Herrera, Louis Wade, Glenfield Dennison, and Janelle Chanona — released a formal joint statement outlining their deep-seated concerns over the proposed merger, which they say carry unresolved risks for Belize’s legal framework and competitive telecommunications market. The independent senators have aligned their position with a broad coalition of domestic stakeholders, including the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB), and the country’s parliamentary Opposition. All these groups have raised persistent questions about three core aspects of the transaction: its legal standing, the accuracy of SMART’s $80 million valuation, and the long-term consequences for industry competition. A central argument from the senators is that the completed acquisition would create an effective monopoly in Belize’s telecommunications sector, a outcome that directly violates Section 42(4) of the nation’s existing Telecommunications Act. The lawmakers stressed that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the country’s independent regulatory body for public utilities, has a non-negotiable legal obligation to conduct a full, transparent merger review before any transaction can move forward. This mandatory review is particularly critical, they noted, because the acquisition would restructure existing shareholdings in the telecommunications market and reshape competitive dynamics for all consumers and businesses operating in the sector. Beyond competition and legality concerns, the independent senators have also called into question the rushed timing of the proposed sale. They warned that pushing to finalize the transaction while core legal questions remain unaddressed puts the entire validity of the deal at legal risk, setting a problematic precedent for regulatory compliance in the country. The protest came to a head during Wednesday afternoon’s Senate sitting in the capital city of Belmopan, where all four independent senators exited the chamber in a coordinated walkout to demonstrate their formal opposition to BTL’s approval of the acquisition plan. This high-profile protest marks a significant escalation in tensions over the proposed merger, drawing national attention to the growing bipartisan and cross-sector pushback against what critics describe as a non-compliant, anti-competitive transaction that would harm Belizean consumers and small businesses.