PHILIPSBURG--Bureau Telecommunication and Post St. Maarten (BTP) has credited its “diligent” efforts working with the Regulatory Authority of St. Kitts NTCR for the resolution of interference issues in St. Maarten.
BTP said on Thursday that the mobile spectrum in St. Maarten is now free of “unwanted signals” originating from St. Kitts, within the UMTS spectrum bands.
Mobile operator TelCell had filed a complaint at BTP in December last year concerning unwanted signals that were affecting its mobile network. BTP said it took immediate action by working together with different countries, including St. Kitts, to resolve matters. Extensive measurements were performed over the past months and results have indicated that there were signal levels originating from mobile cell sites in St. Kitts that were causing interference in St. Maarten. The regulators were able to identify the mobile cell-sites and mobile operators were requested to make the necessary adjustments to their antennas.
While proper regulatory steps were taken between the two islands, BTP also issued two new frequency channels to TelCell, to aid them in improving their service level, BTP said in a press release. During a recent meeting between the regulator and operator, Chief Technical Officer of TelCell said the assignment of the two new frequencies channels in the UMTS band would help the company to reach higher service levels and he is expecting to see improvements on their network within two weeks.
“It is of great importance that consumers on our island can benefit from most reliable and good quality communication services. We therefore took all regulatory measures to enable the operator to provide good quality service to its end users. BTP will closely monitor further developments and is expecting a more detailed plan from TelCell on their future network adjustment,” BTP Director Anthony Carty said.
BTP thanked the regulator of St. Kitts for their assistance with regard to this matter. “It only speaks volumes about our relationship, as two autonomous entities in two different countries can work for the greater good, and not only for individual needs,” he said.
BTP: Mobile interference issues have been resolved
