Scarlet cannot
amend licence
~ Local telecom companies need protection ~
PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council Monday unanimously backed the request of the Executive Council to reject a second administrative appeal by St. Maarten Network Management N.V./Scarlet to amend the purpose of its business licence.
The amendment would have authorised the company to provide pre-paid and post-paid international, inter-insular, intra-insular direct dial services, wire and wireless Internet and data services, private lease circuits and virtual private networks.
Members of both the governing Democratic Party (DP) and the opposition National Alliance (NA) agreed that another telecommunication company would be detrimental to the existing telecommunication companies in St. Maarten, which should be protected so the workers won’t lose their jobs.
Economic Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger (DP) outlined the procedure followed that led to yesterday’s meeting in which the Island Council was requested to reject a petition to amend Scarlet’s business licence.
The Island Council had already rejected a first administrative appeal on August 30, 2006, and the second appeal was filed on July 20, 2006. A hearing by the Central Committee took place on November 20, 2006, in which a workgroup was installed and assigned the task of exploring the possibility of a compromise with Scarlet.
The workgroup held a meeting on November 21, 2006, in which it was decided to formulate Scarlet’s business licence in such a way that it would be obliged to deliver its telephone services to end users via the existing telecommunications infrastructure of the current concession holders in St. Maarten.
The workgroup discussed the issue on November 22, 2006 and conveyed its ideas to Scarlet’s representatives. On November 23 Scarlet presented the workgroup with a counterproposal that came down to Scarlet using its own wireless network to resell TelEm local origination and termination services.
Scarlet’s alternative was conveyed to the TelEm group of companies by the workgroup. The objective was to ascertain feasibility. TelEm replied on November 27, 2006, stating that Scarlet’s idea should be rejected because TelEm wasn’t willing to give up its share of the market.
Granting Scarlet’s request unconditionally might have detrimental consequences for the existing telecommunications infrastructure maintained and operated by the current concession holders. Therefore, the workgroup advised the Island Council to deny Scarlet’s second administrative appeal.
However, the workgroup pointed out that the outcome of a possible court case filed by Scarlet could not be predicted and losing such a court case might lead to the undesired consequence that more telecommunications companies would be allowed to enter the market in St. Maarten.
Island Council member Frans Richardson (NA) said what he had heard sounded as if the Executive Council had been forced to go against its own policy on telecommunications and was afraid of being taken to court for promises made with which it couldn’t comply.
“Is the Executive Council asking us to grant a licence or send a message that an operating licence cannot be approved? Are they asking us to revoke their earlier decision?” Richardson said.
He further stated that at one point St. Maarten had sustained five to six different telecommunications companies and only three were left struggling. “Another company on the market will create havoc,” he said.
In this light Richardson asked: “Why are we being asked to intercede? Why are we being held hostage to make this discussion. Why is this being handled in the midst of an election?”
Maria Buncamper-Molanus (DP) said she couldn’t understand Richardson’s standpoint, as the Island Council was dealing with an appeal against a decision by the Executive Council which it was asking the Island Council to back up. “The decision must be carried to protect our local companies, but not forever. This is to create some stability,” she said.
Heyliger stated in reaction to Richardson’s comments that the Executive Council had made this decision to protect local companies. He explained that the licence for St. Maarten Network Management N.V. had been granted in 1997. The Executive Council had allowed it to change its name to Scarlet, but had not approved amendments to the business licence as requested.
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