Pond Island:--- TelEm Group has written to the Bureau of Telecommunication and Post, St. Maarten, thanking the regulator and its staff for their prompt assistance in identifying recent interference to the company's 3G mobile voice and data network.
TelEm Group says it's thanks to the Bureau's technical staff, who, along with the Technical and Engineering staff of the company, quickly identified the source of the interference.
"We are also most grateful to the regulator for granting us the use of a new frequency so quickly after our official request was made, allowing us to quickly adjust our operating frequency and alleviating the effects of the interference," said Chief Financial Officer, TelEm Group, Mrs. Helma Etnel.
She said the value of having a local regulator for St. Maarten has shown its worth because of the quickness with which the Bureau was able to respond to the company's need.
Mrs. Etnel said reports from the Technical Department says 3G signals in the CupeCoy, Cole Bay and Simpson Bay areas are "vastly improved" now that the interference to these specific areas have been alleviated.
"The technicians and engineers are reporting some issues that remain in the St. Peter's Hill area, which may or may not be related to the interference problem, and they expect to have that issue cleared up very soon also," said Mrs. Etnel.
The CFO said work is continuing with the local regulator to minimize frequency interference in the future. In that regard, TelEm Group has invited an outside radio frequency planner to monitor the company's network and make recommendations as necessary to management.
She said based on the expert's findings, management will take whatever actions are required to safeguard customers against unwanted signal interference.
