Telecommunications, the new frontier
The state-of-the-art telecommunications system on St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the main reasons that major international companies are looking to invest in the twin federations. The liberalized market which promotes open competition has resulted in a wide variety of business and consumer solutions.
Cable & Wireless St. Kitts & Nevis Ltd, formerly St. Kitts and Nevis Telecommunications Limited (SKANTEL), operates the local and international telephone service in St. Kitts and Nevis. This followed a joint venture agreement between Cable & Wireless and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in 1985, which formed the then SKANTEL. As part of Cable & Wireless’ thrust to establish a global identity and positively leverage the Cable & Wireless brand, the company was re-branded to Cable & Wireless (C&W) St. Kitts and Nevis Limited in 1999.
After investing over a billion dollars in telecommunications development in the Caribbean, Cable and Wireless turned its eye to St. Kitts. It is currently the only full service telecommunications provider on the island, providing fixed line, mobile, Internet services, and business solutions, such as online billing. They provide extremely secure services, since unlike many other places in the world almost 100% of their lines are underground, which is very important in hurricane- prone environments
In the last year, C&W has experienced its most dramatic change yet in the federation. "We were one of the first markets to liberalize and empower citizens to own part of the telecommunications industry," explained Patricia Waters, Chief Executive.
Liberalization started back in 2003 led by Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) an OECS initiative funded primarily by the World Bank. That same year, licenses were issued by ECTEL in the various territories of the OECS, and Caribbean Phone was one of the companies to obtain a Long Distance license.
Caribbean Phone now owns an International Simple Voice resale license which allows them to purchase minutes from carriers, locally and internationally and carry traffic anywhere around the world. Consumers dial 888, the company’s short code. They are then connected to Caribbean Phone’s switch, which allows the user to connect internationally at substantially reduced prices. For example, calls to the United States are as low as 12 cents a minute from 6 pm to 8 pm and all day Sunday and go only as high as 19 cents per minute.
The Caribbean Phone Long Distance Phone Card is available island wide and at most hotels and can be used on mobiles and fixed lines as well.
As a result of Caribbean Phone’s successes, they are now moving into a range of other products and services including broadband phones service, PBX’s and other VOIP solutions. The company has plans to expand into other parts of the ECTEL regulated region in the coming year. CaribbeanPhone.com, the company’s website, provides consumers with up to date information on promotions and new services.
Digicel, a mobile telecommunications operator, is partially owned by The Cable. William Ewing, a Texas businessman, opened this company almost 25 years ago and created one of the best cable systems in the Caribbean. Despite being the paternalistic leader of the telecommunications industry, he constantly focuses on innovation, and has agreements to access up to 10 gigabytes of submarine cable that goes to St. Maarten, St. Croix and Puerto Rico. The Cable is also running fiber for the South East Peninsula developments, and is working on providing VOIP service in 2007.
St. Kitts recognizes the need for more wireless internet access. Hot spots are few, although the airport and some hotels offer the service – sometimes for free, sometimes at a hefty price. To ensure that students don’t have to pay exorbitant fees, The Cable has worked with the Ross University Veterinary School to hook up all the dorms with high speed and wireless internet as well as cable TV.
While the telecommunications industry continues to modernize, the main players realize that it is important to be good corporate citizens. As such, all of them invest a substantial amount of time and money in the local community.
Cable and Wireless offers free internet to local schools. They also partnered with Dell Computers. C&W buys the computers at cost and then gives families a year to pay for the laptop, which comes with free wireless. They also have created a special program whereby every time a family pays their wireless bill, a portion of the revenue goes to their child’s school.
