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The year 1939 saw the lease of Wireless Stations Site and
buildings set to back-up cable. A Wireless license was granted in 1941
and 1946 by an agreement signed with the USA Department on Commerce Weather
Bureau to provide additional services.
In June 1902, the second town Portsmouth in the North was connected to
the capital Roseau in the South West by telephone and by 1905 there were
200 miles of telephone lines throughout the island.
Telephone service was initiated by the Government of Dominica and was
later incorporated in Cable & Wireless when the first automatic telephone
exchange was opened in December 1968. At that time, Cable & Wireless
boasted of some 609 subscribers. An agreement between the Crown Agents
for Overseas Governments and Administrations acting for and on behalf
of the Government of Dominica and the Company gave the Company authorization
to provide, install, maintain and operate the national telephone system
of the Commonwealth of Dominica for a period of 20 years commencing the
1st day of December 1968.
Telephone exchanges were built at Portsmouth, Marigot in the North East
and St. Joseph on the west Coast in 1969, and Grand Bay in the South East
in 1972. On August 9 1973, another agreement signed by the Minister for
Communications gave Cable & Wireless authority to provide and operate
the external telecommunication services of the Commonwealth of Dominica
for another 20-year period.
Demand for telephone service grew steadily and extensions to the Roseau
Exchange were completed in 1970 and 1974. A new exchange was built at
Canefield in 1975.
Cable & Wireless Survives Disaster in Dominica, picks up the pieces
and grows
Disaster struck Dominica in August of 1979 and the telephone system was
not spared. From 3179 working lines in early August were reduced to 264
working lines at the end of 1979. The task of rebuilding the system was
tackled with vigour, and in December 1984, Cable & Wireless had over
3000 lines in service. By March 1994, there were 15,791 lines in service.
A Mr. Tom Mackay arrived in Dominica in August 1984 from the Cable &
Wireless Head Office in London, to take up the post of Field Installation
Manager of the new Microwave Radio System installed there. The system
connected Roseau to the North of the island.
The establishment of such a system meant high quality circuits capable
of accommodating television and data transmission, the complete elimination
of physical lines on inland trunk and international calls, increased reliability
and almost fault free operations. It was also a prelude to the introduction
of International Telephone Direct Dialing by 1987.
By 1985, the Company decided to upgrade the switching systems on the
island by providing sate-of-the-art Electronic Switching. Dominica opted
for a total change. Another agreement was signed between the Government
of Dominica and the Company to provide, install, maintain, operate and
augment the International Telecommunications Systems and Services both
between Dominica and places of mobile stations within and outside Dominica
and its territorial waters and airspace and passing in-transit through
the Commonwealth of Dominica.
In 1986, the telephone system continued to develop and the company recorded
its 5,000th paying customer.
A new achievement for Dominica in telecommunications
On Tuesday, 27th February 1987, the Caribbean island of Dominica became
the first country in the world to operate a fully digital national telephone
system. The Canefield, Grand Bay and St. Joseph exchanges were the last
to be digitalized in Cable & Wireless’ EC$31 million three-phase development.
The first stage brought Roseau on line on November 22nd in 1986. Portsmouth
and Marigot followed on 16th February the following year.
On 17th March 1987, then Prime Minister Dame Mary Eugenia Charles made
the first official IDD call to Cable & Wireless Chairman Eric Sharpe
in London, at the official opening of the exchange at the Company’s Corporate
Offices on Hanover Street in Roseau. The new system replaced the 20-year-old
analogue equipment of the type, which was still used in many of the large
industrialized countries of the world. It would cater to Dominica’s telecommunications
needs well into the 21st century to ensure a faster more reliable service.
The feature address at the function was delivered by Communications and
Works Minister Alleyne Carbon who praised the Company on its EC$31 million
investment and the introduction of the latest technology in the telecommunications
field. The opening was attended by the then President of Dominica Sir
Clarence Seignoret, other Government Ministers and MPs, foreign diplomats,
Cable & Wireless’ Regional Executive Director and Representatives
of AT&T and Canada’s Northern Telecom who installed the new Digital
Switch.
More Development
By 1989, the quality of the island’s overseas calls were significantly
enhanced by the new ‘Digital Eastern Caribbean microwave System (DECMS)’
which replaced the former more noise-prone Analogue Microwave System.
The capacity of voice and data circuits was greatly increased to cope
with the higher traffic demand on the ‘90s.
Between the period 1989 to 1993, there was also a number of major switching
projects to extend telephone services to many parts of the island. Exchanges
were installed at other locations bringing the total available capacity
to approximately 19,200.
On 10th May 1990, an important milestone in the history of Cable &
Wireless in Dominica was reached when the 10,000 paying telephone customer,
Mr. Lennox Joseph, who applied for service six days before, was connected.
There are currently fifteen exchanges in operation and twelve radio sites
across the country. The company’s list of telecommunications services
had increased to include mobile, Internet, data and enhanced voice services.
New telecommunications environment
Cable & Wireless’ exclusivity in Dominica was first challenged when
a local company questioned the constitutionality of the Company’s existing
20-year operating license. Pressures from international organizations
like the WTO for the liberalization of the region’s fast growing telecommunications
industry meant the Company had to look to responding effectively to industrial
changes to continue to build on the company’s reputation as the solutions
provider in all aspects of telecommunications in Dominica and the region.
In May 2002, Cable & Wireless and the OECS Heads of Government signed
a Memorandum of Understanding opening the markets in the region to competition.
This move was a demonstration of Cable & Wireless’ willingness to
embrace a liberalized telecommunications environment that will benefit
all stakeholders in the industry. Following this arrangement was the signing
of an agreement between the two parties, which included the revision of
rates for calls within the Caribbean, domestic calls, and international
mobile rates.
Today, Cable & Wireless Dominica is a robust organization managed
by visionary men and women committed to the continued advancement of the
Company. This is a commendable achievement, particularly, as the Company
faces the challenge of operating in an environment that holds five other
telecommunications operators.
Cable & Wireless, however, remains committed to the development of
its telecommunications network and will continue to provide Dominica’s
people with quality, reliable communications services.
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