"St. Maarten Cable TV is set to join its sister companies in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were transferred on October 6, 2010,"said Seth Davis, CEO of the Innovative companies. "We are looking forward to expanding the services offered to citizens of St. Maarten and improving the quality of their delivery as well. Customers have been requesting upgrades for years, and we are excited to begin rolling them out. "
Major initiatives planned after the transfer of control include providing digital cable service and revamping the existing programming line-up. Digital service will provide improved picture quality, a digital interactive guide, better sound and an overall enhanced viewing experience.
Changes to the channel lineup are essential in order for St. Maarten Cable TV to be in compliance with regional programming requirements. As a result, new channels will be introduced to St. Maarten Cable's audience including MSNBC, The History Channel, BBC America, Speed and Azteca International. These popular channels have been requested by subscribers and will further diversify the dynamic lineup. Customers of a la carte premium services will be able to enjoy an expanded HBO/ Max Pak featuring HBO Caribbean, HBO Family, HBO Plus, Max HD and Max Prime.
"Immediately after the transfer of control, we will begin working on those two key initiatives for St. Maarten Cable TV that will improve system reliability and the customers' viewing experience. Our long-term goals include accelerating the deployment of nodes throughout the system to expand coverage of Cablenet, our high-speed Internet service" Davis said.
On October 6, 2010, CAH acquired the Innovative telecommunications operating divisions and subsidiaries in the U.S. Virgin Islands that include the local telephone company, Innovative Telephone, Innovative Cable TV St. Thomas-St. John, Innovative Cable TV St. Croix, Innovative Wireless, Innovative Long Distance and Innovative PowerNet. Although regulatory and court approvals have been received, the transfer of control of St. Maarten Cable TV was delayed for five months to ensure an orderly transition of the entity.