United Telecommunications Netherlands Antilles - Cell Phones Netherlands Antilles

From Ugueto to UTS

In Cura¡ao the telecommunication era started in the year 1892 with the granting of the first concession for the installation of a telephone network to Abraham Ugueto.

In 1927 the colonial authorities and the central government got involved in the local telephone network and this resulted in the construction of a completely new network for Cura¡ao. This was primarily due to the poor functioning of the private company. From 1927 until 1952 the colonial government was in charge of domestic and long distance telephone traffic. The efforts put forth by the 'Landsradio- en Telefoondienst', which at the time also managed the 'Telefoondienst' on behalf of the government, resulted in a denser telephone network, which within a short time encompassed the urban area.

In 1952 the 'Telefoondienst' would again be separated from the 'Landsradiodienst'. The 'Telefoondienst' was transferred to the island territories. During the period from 1952 to 1979 the 'Landsradio en Telegraafdienst' concentrated its efforts on making its networks denser, the introduction of VHF-Technologies, the tropos scanner connection with Venezuela and the most important innovation of that time, viz. the laying of the submarine cable between Cura¡ao - St. Marten - St. Thomas. As a result the Netherlands Antilles became part of the international communications network.

The 'Telefoondienst' became the property of the island territory and remained so until 1979 when it became a limited liability company, going under the name SETEL N.V.

Since 1979 the telephone network of SETEL N.V. has been continuously upgraded and the number of connected subscribers has grown dramatically. This was also the case with the total number of mobile telephone users, which knew a spectacular growth. At the same time the telegraph lost out to the telephone.

In 1996 'Landsradio' was transformed into Antelecom and in 1999 together with SETEL N.V. a holding company was formed, United Telecommunication Services (UTS).

UTS operates on the basis of a business plan, it has a vision and a strategy for a combined, coherent approach to domestic and international telecommunication. It propagates a combined future for telecommunication, which has been summed up in one sentence as "the expansion of capacity and service". The mission statement for UTS thus is: Adding Value to life through communication . The rendering of accounts for the operational activities of the two companies still takes place in two separate annual reports, one for Antelecom and one for SETEL N.V., until such time when the integration will have been finalized.

UTS is the parent company of:

* TDS (T.V. Distribution Systems N.V.) - Provision of education, information and recreation through affordable TV channels and related products.
* TeleCura¡ao - The national TV station.
* Teldata - Provision of Network management including WAN, LAN, IP Telephony, Desktop, Server and Internet security for corporations.
* Telelease - Makes it possible for entrepreneurs to acquire their products by signing lease agreements with them.
* Dataplanet - Provides ICT service to the islands of the Netherlands Antilles , the Caribbean region and also on the international scene.
* E-Powerhouse - Co-location and hosting company serving international e-commerce clients.