Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Tuesday's report that a fourth St. Maarten mobile service concession has been granted to local television station owner Elwaldo Arrindell obviously caught many by surprise. It seems the licence itself dates back almost two years and was issued by then-minister of telecommunications Romeo Pantophlet of the NA/DP/Independent 3 government.
While the news was met with some concern by both United Telecommunication Services (UTS) and the TelEm Group (see today's related story), clients unhappy with the two current cell phone providers on the Dutch side UTS (Chippie) and TelCell may take a different view. After all, there is talk of merging these two government-owned companies, while the third existing concession-holder Corporate Innovations appears to be inactive as such.
Therefore, it's understandable that many consumers actually might welcome a new player on the market, especially if it also involves a possible reputed international partner such as those mentioned in yesterday's story. The HOPE probably would be that this will lead to more competitive prices and enhanced service in terms of quality.
On the other hand, the argument made by UTS Eastern Caribbean CEO Glen Carty that the trend has switched from voice to data transmission with all consequences for the related revenues makes sense. If indeed the proverbial cake is getting smaller, the wisdom of inviting another guest to the table certainly can be questioned.
The Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) in turn says it granted the concession after ample review. A study that dates back to 2010 said three providers were enough, but Eastern Caribbean Cellular (ECC) closed down since then, leaving only two.
In any case, reversing the decision at this point is probably not an option, as this undoubtedly would lead to a court case with a good chance of success based on creating expectations. It will be interesting to see just how this matter pans out.
Correction
Monday's editorial mentioned that the Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) Comprehensive Secondary Education would start three weeks later because the school is moving to a new facility in Belvedere. The latter should have been Ebenezer, as was stated in the article to which the editorial referred. The Daily Herald apologises for the error.
