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

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

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, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. 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 (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 Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (generally known as TSTT) is an incumbent telephone and Internet service provider in Trinidad and Tobago. The company, which is jointly owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Go ...

. Laqtel Communications was successful in its submitted bid along with

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, St. Lucia, Surinam ...

. The two companies were chosen to form the initial process of competition in the wireless landscape of Trinidad and Tobago. NatTel, Cingular Wireless 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 The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

-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