PHILIPSBURG – The Sint Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) has sounded the alarm over what it calls an existential threat to the island’s national telecom provider, TELEM, following the government’s recent approval of a five-year license for Starlink SXM B.V.
Click here to read press release SMCU>>>
The concession, signed off by the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) on May 6, 2025, gives the foreign-owned satellite operator sweeping rights to provide broadband services across land, sea, and airspace. SMCU President Nataly Frans warns that while consumers may welcome better connectivity, the decision risks undermining TELEM’s already fragile financial position and jeopardizes local jobs.
“TELEM is our national asset, built on decades of service to the people of St. Maarten,” Frans stated. “Yet the company’s leadership has remained silent while foreign operators enter the market under streamlined concessions, bypassing the strict regulatory and financial obligations imposed on our local company.”
The union recalls the painful lessons of Hurricane Irma, when TELEM’s infrastructure lay in ruins, employees were left unpaid, and the company’s resilience proved woefully inadequate. Frans accuses successive governments of failing to provide timely cash injections or to hold directors accountable for years of mismanagement, a negligence that has left TELEM on the brink.
The SMCU is now calling on government to act decisively and immediately by:
- Injecting emergency funds into TELEM to stabilize operations and safeguard jobs.
- Halting further concessions to foreign operators until TELEM is properly strengthened.
- Developing TELEM into a resilient, locally owned company capable of withstanding future crises.
The union also blasted past governments for tolerating an incomplete and ineffective board of directors, leading to two rounds of layoffs without any meaningful improvement in TELEM’s finances. “Foreign concessions must never come at the expense of our people, our company, or our nation,” Frans declared.
In its strongest appeal yet, the SMCU accuses the government of “burying decisive action under endless red tape and delays” and insists that the time for excuses has run out. “It is time to end the cycle of neglect and replace it with genuine care and decisive action,” Frans urged.
For TELEM’s workers, and for the island’s sovereignty in telecommunications, the stakes could not be higher.
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Related press release: STARLINK VS TELEM AUG 2025
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