View source for Telecommunications in the British Virgin Islands

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{CIA}}
'''[[Country calling code|Country Code]]: [[Area code 284|+1284]]'''<br />
'''[[International Call Prefix]]: 011''' (outside NANP)
Calls from the British Virgin Islands to the US, Canada, and other [[North American Numbering Plan|NANP]] Caribbean nations, are dialled as 1 + NANP area code + 7-digit number. Calls from the British Virgin Islands to non-NANP countries are dialled as 011 + country code + phone number with local area code.
[[North American Numbering Plan#Dialing procedures|'''Number Format''']]: nxx-xxxx
'''Telephones – main lines in use:'''
11,700 (2002)
'''Telephones – mobile cellular:'''
8,000 (2002)
'''Telephone system:'''
worldwide telephone service
<br />''general assessment:''
worldwide telephone service
<br />''domestic:''
NA
<br />''international:''
Connected via submarine cable to [[Bermuda]]; the [[ECFS (cable system)|East Caribbean Fibre System]] (ECFS) submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)
'''Radio stations:'''
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
* [[ZBVI]] 780 Tortola
* ZJKC-FM 90.9 Tortola (repeats [[WJKC]] 95.1 Christiansted, USVI)
* [[ZGLD-FM]] 91.7 Tortola
* [[ZCCR-FM]] 94.1 Todman's Peak
* [[ZWVE-FM]] 97.3 Tortola
* [[ZKNG-FM]] 100.9 Chalwell
* [[ZROD-FM]] 103.7 Tortola
* [[ZVCR-FM]] 106.9 Chalwell
'''Television stations:'''
1 ([[ZBTV]]), (plus one cable company) (1997)
'''[[Internet service provider]]s (ISPs):'''
1 (1999)
'''Internet country code:'''
[[.vg|VG]]
'''Internet hosts:'''
465 (2008)
'''Internet users:'''
4,000 (2002)
:''See also :'' [[British Virgin Islands]]
==Deregulation of the telephone market==
[[Image:BMobile BVI headquarters.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''b''mobile's headquarters in the BVI.]]
In 2006, the British Virgin Islands government undertook a [[deregulation]] of the telephone industry.<ref>Telecommunications Act (No 10 of 2006)</ref> Prior to 2006, in common with many other Caribbean countries, [[Cable & Wireless (Caribbean)]] had a statutory monopoly<ref>Under the Cable and Wireless (West Indies) Limited Telephones Act, 1975 (Cap 168)</ref> on telephone and other electronic communications services.  However, in the 1990s, a local company called CCT Boatphone, which had previously provided radio boatphones to tourists on charter boats, expanded into cellular (mobile) telecommunications for land-based users.  Although technically in breach of the statutory monopoly, CCT Boatphone was backed by a powerful collection of local interests known as the BVI Investment Club.  Negotiations between Cable & Wireless and CCT Boatphone led to a split of the monopolies, with Cable & Wireless retaining a monopoly over fixed line and internet services, and CCT Boatphone keeping a ''de facto'' monopoly over cellular telephones.
In 2007 the government abolished the previously existing monopolies under an order made pursuant to the new legislation.  The process proved politically fraught, and the government's Minister for Communications and Works, [[Alvin Christopher]], ended up leaving the government and joining the opposition party as a result of the furore.  The process was also criticised as cumbersome and slow, the initial deregulation having been announced in 2004, and taking no less than three years to come to fruition through delays in legislation and regulation.
Although there have been no new entrants into the fixed line industry, the government issued three licences under the new regime to cellular telephone service providers.  The existing provider, CCT Boatphone, obtained one licence.  [[LIME (Cable & Wireless)|''B''mobile]], the cellular arm of Cable & Wireless, obtained a second.  The third licence was obtained by BVI Cable TV, a local cable television service.  The licence in favour of BVI Cable was controversial, as the Regulator had announced in advance that only three licences in total would be issued, and BVI Cable TV had crumbling cable television infrastructure, and was in no position to offer cellular telephone services (and to date, has not offered any cellular telephone services, or anything other than simple cable television).  However, ''b''mobile's main regional competitor, [[Digicel]], was rejected for a licence.  The decision was regarded as highly controversial in the local media.<ref>[http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=article&aid=2695 BVI Platinum news, 23 May 2007] and [http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=article&aid=2782 BVI Platinum news, 4 June 2007]</ref>
Digicel then issued court proceedings against the Regulator, arguing that he had acted improperly by imposing an arbitrary limit of three licences (although no complaint was made about the decision to prefer BVI Cable TV's improbable licence over Digicel).  ''B''mobile was joined to the suit as an interested party.  High Court Judge Rita Joseph-Olivetti found in favour of Digicel and quashed the original decision.<ref>[http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=article&aid=2713 BVI Platinum News, 25 May 2007]</ref> Digicel commenced separate proceedings against [[Cable & Wireless plc|Cable and Wireless]] (as ''b''mobile's parent company) in the [[Courts of England and Wales|English courts]], claiming that Cable & Wireless has unfairly stifled competition in several Caribbean jurisdictions.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/07/070719_phonewars.shtml BBC World news, 19 July 2007]</ref> During the intervening period, ''b''mobile has obtained a virtual stranglehold on the cellular telecommunications market in the British Virgin Islands by a combination of low prices and aggressive advertising, as well as significant investment in infrastructure and technology.<ref>[http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=article&aid=2822 BVI Platinum news, 8 June 2007] and [http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=article&aid=2959 BVI Platinum news, 25 June 2007]</ref>
Digicel was finally granted a licence on 17 December 2007 and started operations in the BVI on 28 November 2008.<ref>[http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/bvi/bvi.php?news_id=5061&start=0&category_id=29 Caribbean Net News: British Virgin Islands<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115212212/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/bvi/bvi.php?news_id=5061&start=0&category_id=29 |date=15 January 2008 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071221/business/business4.html Jamaica Gleaner News – Digicel to take on two new markets – Investing US$15m in BVI roll-out, bids US$80m for Honduras licence – Friday | 21 December 2007<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222205914/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071221/business/business4.html |date=22 February 2008 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.digicelgroup.com/en/media-center/press-releases/achievements/digicel-launches-in-bvi-with-us17million-investment DIGICEL LAUNCHES IN BVI WITH US$17 MILLION INVESTMENT]</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{CIA World Factbook}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.gov.vg/content/ministry-communication-and-works Ministry of Communications and Works of the British Virgin Islands]
* [https://www.submarinecablemap.com/landing-point/nanny-cay-virgin-islands-u-k- British Virgin Islands], SubmarineCableMap.com
{{Americas topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications In The British Virgin Islands}}
[[Category:Telecommunications in the British Virgin Islands| ]]
[[Category:Communications in the British Virgin Islands| ]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in the Caribbean|British Virgin]]