Trindidad & Tobago: telecom liberalization

In Trinidad and Tobago the liberalization of the telecom sector is under way, but slowly. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the last countries in the Caribbean which does not have liberalized market for telecommunications and broadband services. The incumbent, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), is majority-owned by the government (which draws significant revenues from licenses and taxes), while Cable & Wireless holds 49% of the shares.
The government has delayed the actual implementation of the 2001 Telecommunications Act until last year when the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) became operational. In December 2004 the TATT launched an auction for two mobile licenses, which, after further delays, were won in June 2005 by the regional operator Digicel and Laqtel Communications Ltd a local firm with ties to Canadian firms Nortel Networks and Saskatchewan Telecommunications.  Still the license to operate was granted only recently, after a long and tedious negotiation over conditions for "interconnect", or circuit switching between networks, involving the TATT, TSTT and the two mobile operators. The issue is not solved yet as local news report that TSTT is apparently dragging its feet on the purchase and installment of needed circuit switching equipment, while the government has taken a wait-and-see stand.

Further reading: Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago; Computer Society of Trinidad and Tobago;