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More Negotiations on Telecommunications Service for Saint Lucia

Contact: Rose Marie Harris

Thursday, April 18, 2002 - A number of telecommunication companies have been short-listed to provide fixed public and public mobile telecommunications licences for St. Lucia and other countries in the OECS.  The government of Saint Lucia is now in negotiations with the telecommunication providers for the award of fixed public and public mobile telecommunications licences.

In a statement on the issuance of licences for telecommunications sector in Saint Lucia, Thursday April 18, 2002,  Minister for Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities, Honourable Felix Finisterre says some of the companies in negotiations with the government of Saint Lucia are GENSAT International SA, AT&T Wireless Services, Digital Caribbean; GENSAT International SA. For the award of licenses.

According to Mr. Finnisterre, although no local St. Lucian company was short-listed, the companies which are in discussions with the Governmentt of St. Lucia, are keen to ensure local public participation and have expressed a willingness to form partnerships with local businesses.

“In further pursuit of this objective, the Government of St. Lucia is seeking to extract a commitment from all new entrants to the industry that they will provide mechanisms for local public participation, which would include a public offering for the purchase of shares.   The selected companies have all shown that they have the necessary technical expertise and financial resources to meaningfully contribute to the development of our telecommunications sector and our country as a whole.”

 It is expected that the development of St. Lucia’s telecommunications sector through the availability and access to cost effective services and technology will have the following benefits:

• Increased foreign investment;
• Increased employment opportunities;
• Growth in local entrepreneurial enterprise, especially in the services sector;
• Creation of strong and vibrant Information Technology (IT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sectors; and
• Our overall national development

Minister Finisterre says special consideration was given to companies whose business plans demonstrated an interest in and an ability to deliver a quality service while treating the OECS region as a single telecommunications space. 

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