Visitors to St. Maarten and local residents can now stay in touch with the world while relaxing on the beachfront Boardwalk, or browsing through the shops on Front Street. That last minute memo, your input into that vital report, or just checking up on things at home, need not be the cumbersome experience it can be when you're vacationing in the Caribbean. Your wifi-enabled notebook, Blackberry, or other mobile device is all you need.
Saint Maarten International Telecommunications Services Limited teamed up with Lucent Technologies and BelAir Networks to provide a wireless network in Philipsburg, the Dutch capital of the island. The group expects to work together to expand the services to cover other parts of the Caribbean island at a later date. Initially, the service is free to all users. "We are proud to be the first island to benefit by this joint effort between Lucent and BelAir Networks," says Theodore Heyliger, St. Maarten's Tourism Commissioner. "Their cooperation with our phone company not only gave this advanced technology a local base, but also helped to create a seamless Wi-Fi network for our businesses and for our tourist traffic. We are very excited about the growth potential that this technology presents us, and we look forward to including other parts of St. Maarten in this development."
Lucent Technologies designs and delivers the systems, services and software that drive next-generation communications networks. For the St. Maarten WiFi solution, Lucent Worldwide Services leveraged its experience working with multi-vendor networks to rapidly deploy the BelAir WiFi equipment within the existing telecommunications infrastructure.
BelAir Networks offers scalable, wide-area Wi-Fi. Built specifically for outdoor deployment, BelAir Networks' patented solution integrates easily and transparently into existing network and physical infrastructure of downtown business districts, hotels and resorts, and college campuses.
"If you must mix your work and play, St. Maarten makes it easy for you," commented Regina LaBega, St. Maarten's Director of Tourism. "If you're like me, you must stay connected everywhere you go, so whether you're visiting St. Maarten on vacation or business, in today's world of instant communication, we've taken the step to make our downtown area an even bigger shopping playground. So why not come on down and unwind St. Maarten style."
St. Maarten attracts visitors from around the world. Although only thirty-seven square miles in size, this little island has a big reputation for its restaurants, hotels, lively nightlife, great shopping and a vibrant tradition of fine arts. The St. Maarten/St. Martin is the smallest territory in the world shared by two sovereign states, the Netherlands and France. The unique combination incorporates the best of two diverse cultures.