Minister Ludmila de Weever delivers on securing outstanding concessions for TelEm

SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications, Ludmila de Weever, is very pleased that the Governor has signed off the national ministerial decrees thereby finalizing the outstanding concessions for the Sint Maarten TelEm Group of Companies.

On January 29, 2021, His Excellency the Governor and the Minister signed off on the aforementioned decrees to grant concessions to Sint Maarten Telephone Company N.V. (TelEm N.V.) and St. Maarten International Telecommunication Services N.V. (SMITCOMS N.V.).

“I am very pleased to have been able to see this matter come to a conclusion with the signing of the national decrees.  This is a significant development which will allow the TelEm Group of Companies to proceed with their planning and investments,” an elated Minister of Telecommunications Ludmila de Weever said on Wednesday. 

Both concessions are extended for a period of 15-years, subject to earlier revocation or termination, under the conditions as mentioned in the national decrees.

For more than five years, the concession agreements led to a stalemate between the telecommunications sector regulator Bureau of Telecommunications & Post (BTP) and TelEm.  Minister De Weever in her planning related to outstanding issues, put this matter on the table as one of her main agenda points to have resolved within her first year as minister.

“Your diligence on this is very appreciated by TelEm and its subsidiaries. We have been working on this for years now and without your involvement we were starting to get concerned. Again, our heartfelt thanks,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TelEm Kendell Dupersoy said to Minister Ludmila de Weever after the process came to a successful conclusion.