5 minute read
Interview: Telesur
KEEPING US IN TOUCH
Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Mike Antonius, Chief Executive Officer at Telesur, about telecommunications in Suriname, 5G, and improving internet access in rural communities.
The Telecommunications Company Suriname (Telesur), headquartered in Paramaribo, is the Surinamese state-owned telecommunications services provider. First established in 1945 as Lands Telegraaf Telefoondienst, after the merger of the national radio and telephone services, Telesur received its present name in 1981. “We are a full licensed operator now, though of course in the early years we only offered fixed services such as a telephone system,” explains Mike Antonius, Chief Executive Officer at Telesur. “We first introduced internet in 1995 in Suriname, which we developed in subtle stages from the dial-up to DSL-type services, and we are currently rolling out fiber. We have developed into an internet and mobile service provider. We also have a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which we own in the Netherlands. We like to keep people
in touch with their families abroad, and there are strong ties between Suriname and the Netherlands, especially strong family ties. This connects to the slogan of our company – ‘Keeping Us In Touch’ – which was first introduced during the liberalization of the telecoms market in Suriname.”
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY Telesur remains Suriname’s only provider of fixed-line and broadband services. The company is currently engaged in a large-scale project to update Suriname’s aging telecommunications infrastructure. “For a long time, we made use of copper lines, which in the 80s and 90s was the main technology,” explains Mr. Antonius. “We made great of use of that, but the possibilities were, naturally, limited. We are currently running a program called the Telesur National Broadband Project, which is related to our vision of enabling connectivity in such a way that we can secure the digital future of Suriname. As part of that vision, we are rolling out fiber in the whole coastal area of Suriname from east to west, and also in some areas of the south. This project will give us the ability to deliver improved services to our customers, as well as create new revenue streams. Not only will we be able to offer people data services but we can also offer television thanks to those fiber connections. By changing the tech
nology from copper to fiber, the service we provide has become much more beneficial to customers.”
This project began in June 2017, and is expected to wrap up shortly. “When we finish, we will have rolled out fiber in all the initially targeted areas,” says Mr. Antonius. “But in some areas where we have already rolled out fiber to the curb – to small switches in centralized community areas – the ‘last mile’ to the customer needs more work. In that last mile, we have some improvements based on the specific situation of each home, so we have increased the number of teams who are working on it. By the end of the first quarter of next year we should be up to speed. We are targeting both domestic and business users with this technology
18 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – especially businesses, as they have other demands and are looking for things like upload speed that can be improved by using fiber optic cable.”
DIGITAL ECONOMY Telesur’s expectation is that improved connectivity in Suriname will have a significant impact on the growth of the digital economy. “We strongly believe that our role as a connectivity enabler can result in much more e-services that can be offered, including e-payments in particular,” says Mr. Antonius. “We lack a lot in this regard compared to the U.S., Europe, and Asia. We participate in an e-payments company as well, and we believe the initial establishment of e-payments can lead to the establishment of other e-servic-
es including e-transportation, e-education, e-health, and so on. We expect that we will be able to participate much more in the digital economy when we have enough broadband connectivity.”
“We are also working on improving the mobile broadband connectivity, and we recently launched 4G+ services,” explains Mr. Antonius. “This improved the national mobile connectivity. We also launched a 5G service in December. This will not be throughout the whole country, and we are currently focused on the commercial administrative area where there is a lot of government activity and businesses. We are focusing on downtown Paramaribo, and that way we are able to better manage the technical challenges.”
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES A core component of Telesur’s business plan includes connecting even the smallest, most remote communities with accessible internet and mobile networks. “When you look at Suriname, around 80 percent of the inhabitants are in coastal areas, which makes up 20 percent of the whole country,” says Mr. Antonius. “This can be a bit challenging in terms of connectivity. If you look at access to communication in general, and the possibilities of communication, then everyone should be connected or able to make use of the internet and the modern communication it has to offer. One interesting project we are working on is the connection of very small communities on the southern border with Brazil.”
“These communities are mainly made up of the first inhabitants of Suriname, which are the Amerindians,” says Mr. Antonius. “So we have a lot of small communities, each made
up of less than 300 people, that we are still connecting. This is a project that our shareholders expected us to complete and we are in the end stages of the project now. There are still some challenges involved, as we are bringing connectivity to areas where you do not have roads or rivers, and equipment must be transported via helicopter. But it’s an interesting project and we’re very happy to see sustainable development happen in those areas where we have already started implementing this. It is very important for us as a developing country to improve in areas of sustainability, as well as participating in the global economy.”
“Now that 5G is available, we will be able to move on to bringing all other devices online,” says Mr. Antonius. “5G is the first mobile standard that has developed to connect more than mobile phones or tablets, and what we want to do is to connect smart homes and smart buildings. 5G has also improved reliability, and we want to support both businesses and the government in offering all types of e-services so that the gap between customer and business, or citizen and government, can be decreased. We believe that with all the activities we are doing, we are making an impact in our country.” c
