St. Maarten Telephone Company, NV, known as TELEM, recently received a concession to provide international service to the local market. Antelecom, NV, the current long distance provider based in Curacao, will now be challenged by TELEM. However, even its executives agree that service will only improve.

"St. Maarten will be the first island in the Caribbean with competition . . . rates will go down and service will go up," said Dennis Rombley, Antelecom's managing director.

Local consumers are the real beneficiaries of the approval. International rates will drop, thus making it easier to do business from one side of the island to the other. Currently, both Dutch and French-side residents have to call "internationally" when dialing from one side of the island to the other.

Curtis Haynes, the general manager of TELEM notes that quality of service, pricing structure and catering to the needs of the subscriber are ways in which the new situation will benefit the consumer. International capability will give the phone company much to handle, as it currently is servicing all Dutch-side clients with local service.

The international concession isn't the only innovation planned. Recent hurricanes have wreaked havoc on the phone system of the island. To better prepare itself for such events, TELEM is currently burying the entire island phone network with fiber optic and regular telephone lines.

Haynes explained, "After Hurricane Lenny our cellular service was never out, but if it would have rained another five hours, it would have been a serious problem." Sixty-percent of lines are still on overhead lines, so the placing of communication lines under ground should help alleviate the strain caused by heavy wind and rain.

Wireless technologies are another way the companies plan to deal with turbulent weather. In 1995, Hurricane Luis blew down the big microwave tower on the Salt Pond in Philipsburg. However, the tower did not move during the gales of Hurricane Lenny.

"We are using smaller, higher capacity dishes that can handle the weather," noted Rombley. The lessons learned from past storms are better preparing the island for the future. Products are now better able to withstand turbulent weather.

By the end of March, TELEM will have an entirely new system implemented for wireless service. Global Service Mobil is an advanced European technology that rivals its U.S. counterparts. GSM is based on a highly developed technology. Haynes predicts that "in a couple of years the United States will merge to the GSM system, which is more reliable and more cost effective."

TELEM's manager is impressed by the rapid change of telecommunications technology. He explains that only more options wait on the horizon.

"Technology is changing very fast! The way telecommunications is today, don't think in five years that it will be the same. We have seen an enormous change in technology in just the most recent of times."

His vision for St. Maarten is quite optimistic. When asked where he saw his company five to 10 years from now, Haynes argues, "St. Maarten is totally qualified in information technology compared with the standards of any other developed country."

Rombley agreed. "We have all the modern technologies available, so we are not isolated. There wasn't a minute that the island was out of cellular service during Hurricane Lenny."

As the tourism product in St. Maarten evolves into the demands of the new century, communication services plan to be a catalyst from which other industries can benchmark. TELEM is working with the Economic Development Corporation to create a center of communications for arriving cruise ship guests. The technology area will have ample phones and Internet access for visitors who want to get in touch with friends and family back home.

"St. Maarten is developing and being able to provide service to a new generation of tourist that will be visiting. Short visits of three to four days will become more common as business will be wherever your business or office is located," argued Haynes, referring to what laptops can do for the working professional who chooses St. Maarten for a long weekend.

In the next five to 10 years, Rombley believes that St. Maarten is in a unique position. Antelecom has 30,000 to 40,000 subscribers in Curacao and is prepared to expand into other Caribbean markets. There is talk that the British state-owned company, Cable and Wireless, might privatize in some of the Caribbean islands. This would pose great opportunity for both TELEM and Antelecom.

Antelecom can utilize its extensive resources and international experience and TELEM can provide expertise it has gained from its local services of cellular, household and now its international approval.

Antelecom's general manager suggests, "Maybe Antelecom will even merge with TELEM to aggressively pursue opportunities in the opening Caribbean market." It is difficult to tell, but nevertheless, consumers and tourists will definitely benefit from the competition provided by these two innovative companies.