PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Economic Affairs Franklin Meyers on Wednesday said he would not sign any agreement for a second fibre optic cable landing permit that would utilise UTS' manhole landing site, the main competitor of SMITCOMS "and I say this in no uncertain terms," he said.
The Minister raised the issue of the ongoing Dutch funded project to lay a fibre optic cable between St. Maarten, Saba, Statia and St. Kitts and the complications raised when it became apparent that the project coordinator was in discussions with UTS to use its manhole landing site instead of that of SMITCOMS.
Meyers said there seems to be "under currents" trying to force the Ministry to "sign on with UTS." He said, "I do not believe those opportunities would be offered to us in any country in the Caribbean and do not see why St. Maarten always has to be the exception to the rule."
He added that if an agreement is not reached to use the SMITCOMS landing site, he would re-iterate a very simple fact, "St. Maarten already has a fibre optic cable connected with San Juan. We are not jockeying for one. We understand the benefits of an additional fibre cable, but it's not as if we are depending on it," he said.
Meyers said he will not put UTS in an advantageous position over SMITCOMS.
"SMITCOMS invested some US $18 million to pull fibre from St. Maarten to San Juan.
The project now being executed is funded by the Dutch in the form of a grant. If any competitor buys into the fibre without going through the SMITCOMS manhole, they only have an average cost of US $2.4 million for their purchase.
"SMITCOMS' overhead is much greater with the servicing of an US $18 million loan. The competitor can then slash their prices, which would put the local company in a position where it can't compete and service its loan at the same time," he said.
He stressed that while it is not the intention of the Ministry to forbid the sale of bandwidth once the fibre is laid, "However I know that government has the authority to issue landing permits on St. Maarten and that approval is subject to the requirements that are set forth by the Ministry," Meyers concluded.
