Explanations on the costs of the fibre optic cable

The Daily Herald writes that Plasterk stated that hooking on the sea cable internet connection had a positive, price decreasing effect on the Internet Protocol IP-transit tariffs for the islands.

He was answering questions about the high cost of using the fibre optic sea cable for St. Eustatius and Saba. The minister explained that the IP-transit tariff had been reduced by one third from the moment St. Eustatius and Saba started making use of the sea cable per mid-2013. “The current tariff is comparable to the tariffs in the Windward Islands region. It is expected that the IP-transit tariffs will further go down with the landing of the sea cable on St. Barths and St. Maarten,” he stated. Plasterk noted that the Dutch Government didn’t have any influence on the IP-tariffs, since these were determined by the manager of the cable and not regulated through the telecommunications law for the islands. Local providers on St. Eustatius and Saba have recently improved the quality of service with higher internet speed for similar prices. The providers also work on improving the permanent infrastructure which will result in a further increase in the potential of the sea cable and a decrease in cost.