LaqTel Ltd. ("LaqTel Communications") was a privately held up-start

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

and wireless service provider, of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. A division of Telcom Holdings Ltd. (TH), LaqTel was first founded in 2002 by Joseph Laquis, the current CEO of LaqTel Communications is Michael Barrow.

History

Laqtel was initially financially backed by a group of local investors who were awarded one of the first mobile licenses- by the

Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is the organisation that regulates telecommunications and broadcasting services in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the ...

(TATT) on July 5, 2005. The licenses awarded to Laqtel and one other bidder formally began the process of mobile competition in Trinidad and Tobago alongside the incumbent Telecommunications monopoly provider TSTT. Laqtel Communications was successful in its submitted bid along with

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, a ...

. The two companies were chosen to form the initial process of competition in the wireless landscape of Trinidad and Tobago. NatTel,

Cingular Wireless AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the t ...

and Telkom Caribe were the other providers that were unsuccessful in the licensing round. The LaqTel logo was designed by Kenrick Rampial, who won a nationwide design competition in October 2005. Prior to the TATT announcement of which companies received licenses, both Digicel and Cingular Wireless had announced a deal where Digicel will acquire from Cingular their entire Caribbean and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

-based wireless networks and licenses, thus leaving only Laqtel and Digicel as new entrants for Trinidad and Tobago. On March 14, 2008 had its

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

licence revoked in Trinidad and Tobago due to its failure to pay outstanding bonds and court fines. Equipment valued at $1 million TTD was also seized from its offices.

References

{{Trinidad and Tobago mobile phone companies Mobile phone companies of Trinidad and Tobago Defunct mobile phone companies 2002 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago

History

See also

References