View source for Telecommunications in Barbados

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
'''Communications in Barbados''' refers to the telephony, internet, postal, radio, and television systems of [[Barbados]].  [[Barbados]] has long been an informational and communications centre in the [[Caribbean]] region.  [[Electricity]] coverage throughout Barbados is good and reliable. Usage is high and provided by a service monopoly, [[Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd.]] (a division of [[Canada]]-based [[Emera]]).

The [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) [[call sign]] [[ITU prefix|prefix]] allocated for all [[radio station|radio]] and [[television station|television]] broadcasts in Barbados is '''8P''', and this replaced the former '''ZN''' and '''VP6''' as a [[British Empire|British territory]].

== History ==
{{Main|Cable and Wireless (Caribbean)}}
[[File:All Red Line.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [[All Red Line]] cable for the [[British Empire]]. Barbados(Barbadoes) functioned as an interconnection-point between [[Bermuda]] and [[Ascension Island]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. c.a. 1903]]
Barbados has had various forms of Communications as early as the 1840s.  Some of the earliest expressions of inter-island communication includes a number of signal stations built along the high points of the island to relay acts of transgression towards the island to the [[Saint Ann's Garrison]] on the south-west coast.  The first telephone network in the country was developed in 1884.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.candw.com.bb/barbados/about_us/history/history_01.html |title=About us &ndash; History |author=Staff writer |year=2008 |department= |website=www.candw.com.bb |agency=Cable & Wireless (Barbados) |access-date=22 March 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201232535/http://www.candw.com.bb/barbados/about_us/history/history_01.html |archive-date=1 December 2008 |quote= }}</ref> As the former [[British Empire]]'s [[All Red Line]] came into existence during the early 1900s, Barbados played an important role as a crucial link in the [[Atlantic Ocean|trans-Atlantic]] communications network.  By 1935 a hard wired cable-based radio network was later deployed throughout the country to broadcast the [[Rediffusion]] service directly from [[London]] to homes and business across Barbados.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.starcomnetwork.net/aboutus/index.htm |title=Our History of Broadcasting Excellence |author=Staff writer |year=2009 |department= |website=www.starcomnetwork.net |agency=STARCOM Network Inc. |access-date=22 March 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901192633/http://www.starcomnetwork.net/aboutus/index.htm |archive-date=1 September 2009 |quote= }}</ref>
In 2001 the [[Government of Barbados]] and the local [[Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier]] (ILEC) provider, [[Cable and Wireless (Caribbean)|Cable & Wireless]] signed a MOU beginning a phased process of liberalisation of the international segment of Barbados' telecommunications sector.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbados.gov.bb/Docs/MOU_CW.pdf |title=MOU Document |website=www.barbados.gov.bb |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050401073309/http://www.barbados.gov.bb/Docs/MOU_CW.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>  The process was aimed at bringing Barbados' sector into compliance with the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO). The plan outlined the first phase commencing on 1 December 2001 and the entire process ending with full liberalisation being achieved on 1 August 2003.  As these target dates were missed, the Phase I process was later commenced on 1 November 2002, with Phase II and III beginning on 16 November 2003 and 21 February 2004 respectively. Full liberalisation was attained in February, 2005, for the international telecommunications services market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telecoms.gov.bb/AboutUs/tabid/108/Default.aspx |title=About Us |access-date=8 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704215944/http://www.telecoms.gov.bb/AboutUs/tabid/108/Default.aspx |archive-date=4 July 2010}}</ref>

== Telephone ==
'''[[Country calling code|Country Code]]: [[Area code 246|+1.246]]'''<br />
'''[[International Call Prefix]]: 011'''<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf ''Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010))''], Annex to ITU Operational Bulletin No. 994-15.XII.2011, International Telecommunication Union (ITU, Geneva), 15 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.</ref> (outside NANP)

Calls from Barbados to the US, Canada, and other NANP Caribbean nations, are dialled as 1 + NANP area code + 7-digit number. Calls from Barbados to non-NANP countries are dialled as 011 + country code + phone number with local area code.

[[North American Numbering Plan#Dialing procedures|'''Number Format''']]: nxx-xxxx

The rate of telecommunications penetration in Barbados ranks among the highest in the world.  According to the [[International Telecommunication Union]], telephone service for the period 2000–2004, stated Barbados had 124 telephones in usage for every 100 people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Best |first1=Tony |date=27 December 2006 |title=Barbados well wired |url=http://www.nationnews.com/story/319373050722253.php |url-status=dead |department= |work= |publisher=[[The Daily Nation (Barbados)|Nation Newspaper]] |publication-date=27 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223220250/http://www.nationnews.com/story/319373050722253.php |archive-date=23 December 2007 |access-date=30 June 2009 |url-access= |quote= }}</ref>  Telecommunications are virtually universally accessible to all.

; [[Telephone]]s - main lines in use:
: 134,900 (2005)
:''county comparison to the world:'' 133
; Telephones - [[mobile cellular]]:
: 237,100 (2006)
:''county comparison to the world:'' 165
; Telephone system:
:* general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 85 per 100 persons
:* domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
:* international access code: +1.246 (in the [[North American Numbering Plan]], [[Area code 246]]);
::* landing point for:
:::*1) the [[East Caribbean Fiber System]] (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the [[British Virgin Islands]] to [[Trinidad]];
:::*2); the [[Antilles Crossing|Antilles Crossing Phase 1]] link to the [[United States Virgin Islands|US Virgin Islands]] via [[Saint Lucia]];
:: satellite earth stations - 1 ([[Intelsat]] - Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and [[Saint Lucia]] (2007)
; Mobile providers:
::* ''Current'':  Liberty Latin America<ref>[https://lla.com/our-brands Our Brands C&W], Liberty Latin America</ref> (d/b/a [[Flow (brand)|Flow]]), [[Digicel]]
::* ''Defunct'': ''[[Cingular Wireless]](divested to Digicel)'', [[Sunbeach]]

== Broadcasting ==
; Radio broadcast stations:
: AM 2, FM 6, [[shortwave]] 0 (2004)
::*(VOB-AM 790 (Gospel), 8PX-AM 900 (CBC)
::*(BBS 90.7FM, PBS 91.9FM, BBC 92.1FM, VOB 92.9FM, CBC 94.7FM, HOTT 95.3FM, Mix 96.9FM, Gospel 97.5FM, The One 98.1FM, WE 99.9FM(SVG), Q 100.7FM, SLAM 101.1FM, Faith 102.1FM, Love 104.1FM, Radio GED 106.1 FM)
; [[Radio]]s:
: 237,000 (1997)
; Television broadcast stations:
: 1 (plus two cable channels) (2004)
::* [[8PX-TV]] ([[Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation|C.B.C. TV8]])
::* [[Public Broadcast Service]] (PBS) -- ''Scheduled for 2009''
; [[Television]]s:
: 76,000 (1997)

== Internet ==
; [[internet service provider|Internet Service Providers]] (ISPs):
: 3+ (1999)
: ([[Cable and Wireless (Caribbean)|Cable & Wireless]] (CaribSurf), [[TeleBarbados|TeleBarbados/Freemotion.bb]] (frequently reported for malicious phishing practices by users accessing their webmail domain found via mail.free.bb),<ref>WOT.COM</ref> [[Sunbeach Communications]])
; [[Country code|Internet country code]]:
: [[.bb|.BB]]
; [[Internet]] hosts:
: 104 (2008)
:''county comparison to the world:'' 178
; Internet users:
: 160,000 (2005)
:''county comparison to the world:'' 131

=== Broadband Internet access ===
Globally, the country of [[Barbados]] was ranked by the [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) and UNICEF to be one of the most wired countries in the world on a [[per capita]] basis.  The report entitled "State Of The World's Children 2007" stated Barbados had rate of [[Internet]] usage which was 55 users for every 100 people.  This ranking meant that only 13 nations: [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[Finland]], [[South Korea]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malta]], the [[Netherlands]], [[San Marino]], [[Singapore]], [[Sweden]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and the [[United States]] had a higher ratios per head of population.  In so scoring this placed Barbados in the lead for the [[Caribbean]] and [[Latin America]] regions.

Telephone services in Barbados are provided by: [[Cable and Wireless (Caribbean)|LIME]] (''Incumbent''), [[Digicel]], [[Sunbeach]], WIISCOM,
Internet services in the country are provided by: [[CariAccess]], [[CaribSurf]], Neptune Communications, [[Sunbeach Communications]], [[TeleBarbados]]/Freemotion.bb, [[WI-NET INC.]]

ADSL services are widely available, as are Frame Relay and other more advanced services.

== See also ==
*[[.bb]]
*[[Call signs in North America]]
*[[List of countries by number of Internet users]]
*[[List of television stations in the Caribbean#Barbados]]
*[[List of radio stations in Barbados]]
*[[List of telephone operating companies#Barbados|List of telecommunications companies in Barbados]]

== References ==
* {{CIA World Factbook|year=2000}}, 2004, 2006 and 2009
{{reflist}}

=== Further reading ===
* [https://www.bajanthings.com/cable-and-wireless-in-barbados/ Cable & Wireless in Barbados], Posted on 19 September 2016 by BajanThings.com
* [https://www.bajanthings.com/international-communication-in-barbados-50-years-ago/ International Communication in Barbados 50 years ago], Posted on 15 March 2017 by BajanThings.com

== External links ==
* [http://www.telecoms.gov.bb/ telecoms.gov.bb] - Government of Barbados' Telecommunications unit
* [https://www.telecoms.gov.bb/indexefbb.html?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=138 The Telecommunications Act], 2001 + Amendment(s)

{{Barbados topics}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Americas topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications in Barbados}}
[[Category:Telecommunications by country|Barbados]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in the Caribbean by country|Barbados]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in Barbados| ]]
[[Category:Internet in Barbados]]