Broadband license Columbus Networks

July 27, 2008 1:46 PM

The Bureau Telecommunications and Post (BTP) has given a green light for a license for the Columbus Networks Curaçao to offer international telephone and broadband internet services on Curaçao. Telecom-minister Maurice Adriaens (FOL) points out that the government expects Columbus to offer its services at ‘competitive prices’.

The Minister announced the news about Columbus Networks during the opening of the congress of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) this morning. The Minister states that the Council of Ministers still has to comment on the license request before it can be issued. The Minister is convinced that the arrival of the Columbus Networks on Curaçao will lead to lower telephone-and internet tariffs.
According to Adriaens, Columbus had been toying with the idea to expand to Curaçao for quite a while. This would have gone through UTS, which would then have to function as a sort of agent of Columbus. According to Adriaens the government did not see the point in it. “Our problem is that at the moment all international lines go through UTS. We’ve been trying for quite some time to attract more businesses in order to push down the prices. We have proposed Columbus to apply for a license. They did, and now we are at the point that the license is almost ready.”
The Minister expects a lot from Columbus. “They will offer international telephone and broadband internet services at competitive prices. They’re already active throughout the Caribbean and their tariffs in general are lower on average than those of UTS.”

(Source: National Newspaper Amigoe)

July 23, 2008