Communication in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad & Tobago boasts a wide array of communications infrastructure. It comprises 33 radio stations, 13 television channels, two mobile operators and several broadband internet service providers. The sector’s liberalization, initiated with the establishment of the Telecommunications Authority in 2001, signaled the beginning of incredible growth and a healthy, competitive climate. Following a billion dollar infrastructural upgrade by the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago (TSTT), the mobile market grew with the entrance of Digicel from 700,000 to approximately 1.4 million today.

The Ministry of Public Administration is at present seeking to strengthen the regulatory framework and provide a greater level of connectivity across the entire country. Trinidad & Tobago is witnessing rapid expansion of its ICT networks. Through the Fast Forward Program, the Government is making considerable investments to develop a ‘tech savvy” and connected population.

Local consumers have recently experienced a telecommunications revolution with the recent introduction of “triple play”, the convergence of digital cable television, broadband internet and telephone services offered by Flow, a brand of the Columbus Communications Group operating throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. This service was made possible by the company’s link –up to the 7,400 –mile fiber-optic submarine cable ring ARCOS, a network which connects over twenty countries in the Caribbean and Central American region from Miami.

In the sphere of print media, Trinidad & Tobago has three daily newspapers covering a wide range of local, international, sports and business news as well as a series of weekly and one monthly news paper catering to various types of readerships and interest groups.