Find Telecommunication expertise in Antigua and Barbuda

Throughout the second decade of the 21^st century the telecommunication sector of Antigua and Barbuda has experienced a period of steady growth, brought about in part by the government decision to begin liberalising the country’s telecommunication sector. This can be seen in the dramatic growth of mobile phone subscriptions, as the fixed line market is gradually replaced by the mobile market. In the period of 2005-2010 mobile telephone subscriptions experienced a cumulative growth of 95.8%, whereas landline phone subscriptions experienced a 0.5% decline.

The primary telecommunications company in Antigua and Barbuda is the state-owned Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), which provides the foundation for the telecommunications infrastructure in the country.

The leading provider of telecommunications in Antigua and Barbuda is LIME a business venture of the Caribbean Cable & Wireless Plc. LIME is a full service telecommunications provider, servicing customers with landlines, internet, mobile and entertainment packages. A prominent mobile telecommunications provider in Antigua and Barbuda is Digicel, which is widely known as the largest mobile telecommunications operator in the Caribbean.

As part of the liberalisation the telecommunication sector, at the end of 2012, the government of Antigua and Barbuda signed a declaration of partnership in telecommunications with the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), an external body which oversees the telecommunications sectors in many other Caribbean countries. The signing of the declaration gives Antigua and Barbuda observer status within ECTEL, moving the country closer towards a liberalised telecommunications sector.

The main regulatory body involved in the telecommunications sector of the country is the Telecommunications Division of the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Science and Technology. The organisation is responsible for all telecommunications laws and policies in Antigua and Barbuda.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda is heavily involved in promoting ICT in education. The Connect Antigua and Barbuda Initiative (CABI) was initially founded by the government to assist in the country’s development by providing ICT access to all citizens of Antigua and Barbuda. Two of the main initiatives set up by CABI are Technology for Early Childhood Education (TECE), which aims to provide public and private preschools with computers, broadband internet access, necessary software, and ICT training for staff; and Technology for Communication, Education & Empowerment (TCEE), which is in the process of setting up Community Access Centres (CACs) offering free ICT lessons and instruction manuals – throughout the country.

According to a survey of telecommunications in Antigua and Barbuda there were 1,200 mobile phone subscribers, 356 landlines and 640 internet users per 1,000 people in the population in 2014. Broadband use in the country is relatively low by world standards. The World Bank observes there were 56.3 broadband internet subscriptions per 1000 people in 2012. Mobile telephones have experienced cumulative growth of 95.8% since 2005, whereas landline phone subscriptions have undergone a 0.5% decline.