New Competitor Enters Barbados Telecoms Market

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

21 June 2006

A new high-speed telecommunications service launched last week by TeleBarbados Inc. promises to bring more competition to the island's telecoms sector and the wider Caribbean region, according to the company.

TeleBarbados's $70 million investment will provide long distance service, international private line and data service, fixed wireless internet and local exchange telephone services.

"We have invested in building a submarine cable system; this ensures our complete independence from Cable & Wireless and ensures us longevity in the market here," Mike DeGraw, TeleBarbados' director of sales and marketing, explained at the launch ceremony.

Mr DeGraw said that consequently, the investment would help to bring "true competition" to the sector.

TeleBarbados is serviced by a 940-kilometre, 20-gigabit submarine fibre-optic cable. At the moment, the service is being offered only to corporate customers, but the company plans to start offering residential high-speed Internet access and VoIP for international calling by the end of the year, and to the entire island by the end of 2007.

The Barbados government commenced the liberalisation of the telecoms market in October 2001. Barbados's telecoms service provider, Cable & Wireless, agreed to a memorandum of understanding under which the government replaced C&W's license with a non-exclusive one, thus paving the way for new competitors to develop in the industry.

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