NEW ERA FOR TELECOMS FIRM SETAR
Already highly competitive, Setar has ambitious plans for its future as a private company

Established by the government in 1986, when Aruba acquired its independent status within the Dutch Kingdom, the telecommunications company, Setar (Servicio di Telecomunicacion di Aruba), is beginning a new era as a private company.
Its Director, Ludwig Jansen, is fully aware of the need for a fresh approach following privatization, and is looking forward to the challenge with excitement and confidence. “You need a different mentality to work as a private company, and we are ready for it,” he says. “We intend to restructure the company and be more proactive in promotion and advertising, as well as expanding services.”

Although Setar no longer holds a monopoly, such is its dominance of the island’s telecommunications sector, he believes that any rival company would be “wasting their time and money” trying to compete. He has focused on making Setar a competitive enterprise ever since he was appointed to his present position in 1996.
“We listened to the needs of our customers and dropped our prices,” he says. “We undertook five or six tariff reductions, making Setar’s prices among the cheapest in the area, whereas we used to be the most expensive.”
The results were highly positive—over the next three to four years Setar’s profits quadrupled. The company provides a variety of advanced telecommunications services. “At the moment we are one of the most modern companies in the Caribbean, delivering every kind of service,” says Mr. Jansen. “Whatever you can imagine existing in the communications world, exists here in Aruba.”

Setar has an advanced network of 5ESS digital exchanges interconnected by means of fiber optic and digital microwave networks. The penetration rate of services on Aruba is 40 percent on regular phones and 60
percent on cellular, one of the highest in the region. International direct and operator-assisted calls are possible with all countries in the world, while internet service has been available since 1995, under the name Setarnet, and has a growing number of subscribers.

The company aims to be the first in the region offering GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), which enables networks to offer ‘always-on’, higher capacity, internet-based content and packet-based data services. The launch is planned for next year.
“We will be the first in South America, Central America, the Caribbean and most of the United States to have GPRS,” says Mr. Jansen. “We always try to be ahead of the game as a company and we are proud of that.”

The company is interested in joint ventures with content providers to ensure the complete range of services that are available to European GPRS users. “There is a huge market to explore, for us and for them,” he says.
Setar has also been working with the island’s hotels to introduce wireless internet and high speed ADSL. Mr. Jansen has also been negotiating roaming agreements with leading providers to enable visitors to Aruba from Europe and the United States to use their cell phones.