BRIDGETOWN, Barbados-Trinidad and Tobago, a multiethnic Caribbean island off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, has become the first country in the Caribbean to introduce calling party pays (CPP).
Apart from Puerto Rico, where competition has driven growth in users, most Caribbean island nations still have low wireless penetration rates and one provider-in many cases, U.K.-based Cable & Wireless.
Cellular rates on some Caribbean islands are still far from affordable for ordinary consumers. With a strong business sector, Trinidad and Tobago executives and ordinary consumers can now feel free to keep their cellular phones on and accept calls from local and international customers and business partners.
The launch of CPP is expected to be a boon for the small entrepreneur as well. Cellular users, mindful of their monthly bills, often opt to take calls on voice mail or turn their handsets off because of the disincentive of having to pay for calls they would prefer to receive at lower wireline rates.
Despite having a landline telephony penetration rate of just more than 20 connections per 100 people, Trinidad and Tobago wants to see considerably more people in rural communities with basic telephone service. It is hoping the two new pending cellular licenses will lead to lower prices and a jump in the number of telephony users.
Cellnet, a subsidiary of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), launched CPP on 31 July. Customers from landline phones pay $1 Trinidad and Tobago (US$0.16) per minute to call cellular users. The reverse call is on average $2.30 Trinidad and Tobago (US$0.37).
TSTT Chief Executive Officer Samuel Martin said the CPP offering is in response to calls from residential and business customers for a fairer, more equitable way of charging for the service.
“They are therefore delighted that CPP has been introduced. For business customers in particular, their accessibility is enhanced since they now leave their phones on to receive calls. As a consequence, their economic opportunities are also enhanced,” he added.
It is still too early to anticipate CPP’s acceptance by consumers and whether there will be a migration from paging services to cellular. But TSTT said it has noticed an increase in cellular traffic.
Cellular users in other Caribbean countries might want to make CPP available because of the clear benefits to businesses. But for some islands, regulation of prices or a shift from a flat rate to metered rates could be major considerations.
