3.1 Retail services

Four service providers offer broadband services: LIME, The Cable, Caribbean Cable Communications, and Winstreme. The latter two companies operate solely in Nevis, The Cable offers service on St. Kitts and LIME provides service on both islands.

LIME is the only Internet service provider serving both islands. It introduced dial-up access in the 1990s. In 2001, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service was launched. Around one percent of businesses still subscribe for dial-up Internet access primarily for the purpose of retaining prior email addresses. LIME also offers Wi-Fi through several hotspots and has installed WiMAX for rural locations on in the island of Nevis.

In 2003, The Cable launched cable broadband Internet services to subscribers in St. Kitts. The company has seen a gradual increase in the number of broadband subscribers to almost 4,000 as at the end of December 2010 (Table 3-1). The Cable is installing a fiber-to-the-home network in a new property development at Christophe Harbor, the first of its kind in St. Kitts. The project is due for completion at the end of 2011.

Caribbean Cable Communications, the sole cable television service provider on the island of Nevis, provides broadband Internet services using cable modem technology.

Winstreme provides fixed wireless broadband service for residents of Nevis. The subscriber base is less than 200 customers (including a significant number of medical students who reside on the island). The company has installed three towers on the island where the customer premise equipment consists of an outdoor directional antenna to the base station.

As of March 2010, the number of fixed Internet subscribers in St. Kitts and Nevis was 14,577 of which 99% were broadband connections. This puts the fixed broadband subscription rate at 28 per cent. In 2009, St. Kitts and Nevis had the highest fixed broadband penetration in the Latin America and Caribbean region and even surpassed the OECD average (Figure 3-1).

Three mobile operators, LIME, Digicel, and UTS-Cariglobe (Chippie) provide mobile service. LIME has the largest market share at just under 50%.

In March 2009, St. Kitts and Nevis registered a mobile penetration rate of 148 per cent, the highest rate among the ECTEL member states. This is up from 60% in March 2005. Prepaid service far surpasses the number of post-paid mobile subscriptions.

Despite the high cellular penetration, mobile broadband services have not been launched with mobile data service provided through EDGE and GPRS technologies. LIME is in the process of upgrading to Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE). Both Digicel and Chippie have deployed General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) networks.

According to Digicel, approximately 22 per cent of its subscriber base use Internet services. This is typically through mobile handsets that are data enabled. The company also estimates that almost 80 per cent of Blackberry users utilize data services. Blackberry users account for approximately 30 per cent of the subscriber base. In January 2011, Digicel launched its “Data Bundle of Joy” package which gives non-BlackBerry prepaid customers with a data compatible handset the opportunity to purchase weekly, fortnightly, or monthly data packages.

3.2 National and international backbones

Both The Cable and LIME have deployed fiber rings around the island of St. Kitts. Nevis is connected to St. Kitts via microwave. According to service providers the establishment of a wireless link presented a more cost effective option than laying fiber between the two islands. In 2011 LIME applied for a license to implement a second microwave link between the two islands due to limited capacity. Towers are located on the southeast peninsula of St. Kitts offering direct line-of-sight to an antenna on the north end of Nevis at the narrowest point separating the two islands (approximately one mile). Attenuation from factors such as the effects of severe weather and mist (due to the mountainous topography of the island) and the passage of a cruise ship impacts service quality.

Cable & Wireless (along with France Telecom and AT&T) installed the Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) in 1995, an undersea system that connects all of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean including St. Kitts and Nevis.

In 2007 Global Caribbean Network (GCN), was awarded a contract to build an undersea fiber optic cable network between Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico supported by financing from the European Union. Total overall network capacity of the cable is 1.2 Tbps. The Cable leases an STM-1 (155 Mbps) from GCN.

Both the ECFS and GCN cables land at the same site at Lime Kiln in St. Kitts.

3.3 Pricing

An entry-level ADSL subscription from LIME costs US$ 37 per month for a 2 Mbps download/512 Kbps upload connection (Table 3-2). Cable modem prices are higher; for example Caribbean Cable charges US$40 for a 512 kbps download subscription.

Fixed broadband prices are more affordable in St. Kitts and Nevis compared to other East Caribbean nations (Figure 3-2). However prices are relatively high by international standards especially when adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). For example the average monthly subscription price for connections below 2.5 Mbps advertised download speed was USD PPP 27 in the OECD in September 2010 compared to USD PPP 46 in St. Kitts and Nevis. 22  See: “4f. Average monthly subscription price for connections below 2.5 Mbps advertised download speed” on the OECD Broadband statistics portal at: www.oecd.org/ sti/ict/broadband. The 2011 PPP exchange rate for St. Kitts and Nevis is from the IMF World Economic Outlook database.

Consumers can also access the Internet through Wi-Fi enabled laptops or handsets. Data packages are offered through service providers Consumers typically pay about US$ 20 per month for 25 MB daily usage, and US$ 0.10 for each additional 1 MB used over this base amount.

3.4 Quality

Tests are not carried out by the NTRC to measure the quality of broadband services. OOKLA reported that the average download speed for St. Kitts and Nevis was 2.2 Mbps in December 201023  http://www.netindex.com/ only average when compared to other East Caribbean countries (Figure 3-3).