PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ted Richardson held an urgent meeting on September 3 with the Bureau of Telecommunication and Post (BTP), TelEm Group and United Telecommunication Services (UTS) in light of the Smitcoms Building incident on September 1 which caused widespread disruptions in local telecommunications systems.
The main agenda was to discuss measures that can be taken to avoid a similar situation in the future. All top executives of the three companies were present for the meeting, a TEATT press release stated.
The incident involved TelEm's international voice and data switch, and also affected internet and calling services by St. Maarten Cable TV and Scarlet.
"The island was almost shut down and our way of doing business was almost put to a halt in certain instances," said the press release. Minister Richardson emphasised the importance of having structured provisions put into place to avoid or remedy similar situations in the future. He also instructed BTP to be more vigilant in their regulation and control when it comes to the different telecommunication services offered to the consumers.
TelEm Group Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Eldert Louisa previously explained the measures taken directly after the incident via a separate press release. Fire safety equipment was deployed to contain what the system detected as a fire in the building's main server room, operating as it is expected to do.
"A problem developed when the room was cleared of gas and condensation began to affect the electrical components in the international switch." Staff suspect that some components of the switch, including vital cards, were short-circuited when the equipment was rebooted, causing an interruption of the SMPR1 undersea fibre cable link between the Smitcoms Building and a connecting station in Puerto Rico.
During the recent meeting, Minister Richardson said that he was elated to learn that the TelEm and UTS technical departments worked together to solve the recent problem, as was done when UTS previously experienced a similar problem.
"What was specifically important is to also learn that both companies are now working on a more structured approach to have a collaborative understanding established to deal with any and all future technical problems they may face," stated the press release.
BTP was also instructed to move faster in finalising the "Quality of Service Policy," in the works since 2011. BTP indicated that all rounds of consultation with stakeholders were done, and that it has received feedback from them. Minor legal consultation is taking place, and by next week the Minister and his Cabinet should receive the first draft.
All stakeholders present were said to have shown their approval of the concept to have such a policy in place, to benefit consumers and to promote their business' sustainability and development. The policy aims to cover all aspects of the quality of telecommunication services, including telephony and data.
