Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/2121/-1/135/
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New Telecommunications Provider Licensed
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Caribbean Cable Communications in Anguilla, formerly known as Cable TV, has been issued a licence which enables the company to provide all manner of telecommunications except cellular which requires a separate licence.
“We can provide all manner of land line communications. We will have our own telephone numbers assigned to us and customers will be able to call locally and internationally just the same as persons do with Cable and Wireless,” said Lee Bertman, the company’s President.
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Mr. Lee Bertman
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The telecommunications licence was issued by the Government of Anguilla on December 16. Mr. Bertman, who was pleasantly surprised with the quick processing of the application, said that it just took one month between applying for and the granting of the licence.
The company’s president sees this accomplishment as a “progression from cable television to internet and to telephone.” He went on: “With the fibre optic system and a substantial upgraded cable system, we are able to provide a two-way system. We can transmit information to the customer or subscriber and back from the subscriber.” He explained that with the two-way system, the company could provide high-speed data to customers by the internet.
Mr. Bertman continued: “With this licence we really have a very different situation. That is because we can provide telephone service local and overseas calling to homes and businesses. This means that if you choose Caribbean Cable Communications, we will give you a phone number that the Government has assigned us…We are working on what our charges are going to be for local calling, part of that will be what Cable and Wireless is allowed to charge to inter-connect.
“We will also inter-connect with Cingular which has purchased AT&T and we also plan to inter-connect with Weblinks. So from the phone service which we provide, you can call anywhere in Anguilla or in the world. For Anguillians it means that they now have a choice for their home phone; and for businesses it means that we will be offering rates that are very attractive to them and we will be offering some brand new call features. We think that businesses will find this type of tailored approach extremely attractive.”
Mr. Berman said the company would not be ready on January 9 to offer all the services as the licence was only recently received and it would take some time to order and receive equipment and to get it tested and in operation.
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Mr. Lee Bertman (center) receiving license
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“We therefore have a two-phase approach,” he explained. “Phase one is that businesses and hotels and anybody who has a very significant need for overseas calling, we will be able to provide lines for that purpose both inbound and outbound…As part of that process, we are significantly improving our internet service to provide a lot more band width and we first want to get that up to a very high standard. We believe we will complete that project by the end of January or early February. Businesses interested in talking to us about overseas lines can begin to do so now.
“In terms of individuals, who would like local as well as overseas service, the time table is not firm but a tentative time table is April.”
Mr. Bertman said that among the company’s objectives is to be competitive. He thinks that by offering competition, the other competitors would reduce their prices so that everybody would benefit. “Our main objective is not price. It is really to offer a high quality of customer service that is friendly and responsive; to offer a high quality of technical service so that the voice quality is good and reliable; and to offer a number of service features that are not currently available on the market.”
Mr. Bertman said the new telecommunications services would be made available in Anguilla first and then at the company’s branch in Nevis. He estimates that the investment is in the region of one million US dollars including the cost of additional workforce and facility.