The
Internet had, until recently, not had
much direct impact on the conduct of offshore
business from Aruba.
However,
the market for telecommunications in Aruba
has been liberalized. Besides SETAR N.V.
(Servicio di Telecomunicacion di Aruba),
as the first provider of telecommunications
there are two private companies that have
obtained a licence to operate a mobile
phone network. SETAR N.V. being the first
provider on the island, provides most
of the telecommunications services.
There
are also additional internet service providers
and high speed internet is available.
However, broadband is expensive compared
with other countries; at the time of writing
an ADSL service with a 3mbps download
capacity costs about 160 Af per month.
Nonetheless,
the telecommunication infrastructure of
Aruba has advanced in recent years and
the island has both a fibre optic and
digital microwave network. Aruba is also
a landing point of the Pan American Submarine
Cable System, and is connected with the
world fibre optic network. International
calls can be made to all countries in
the world directly or via international
operator service.
SETAR
N.V. has a packet switching node for credit
card validation purposes and additional
data communication services. In addition
SETAR N.V. offers a mobile communication
infrastructure and a city-paging system
for tone, voice (mail), numeric and alphanumeric
options. A cellular telephone and trunking
system (public mobile radio system) is
also available.
Aruba
Offshore Activities
The natural bonding of the Internet and
Offshore stems from the fact that both,
of their nature, manage to avoid tax. Businesses
which can operate on the Internet without,
so to speak, touching ground in a high-tax
jurisdiction will naturally migrate to offshore
jurisdictions; while business that already
have offshore existence will find it highly
convenient to be able to use the Internet
to trade with their high-tax customers without
having to make a landing in their countries.
As
a major offshore jurisdiction with more
than ten thousand of offshore enterprises
already installed, including many trading
companies, it is only a matter of time before
Aruba becomes a centre of e-commerce activity.
The island's geographical location, its
good telecommunications links and sophisticated
business infrastructure add to the inevitability
of an e-future for Aruba.
In
May 2008, Mio, a fast growing provider of
broadband mobile communication services
in the Caribbean Islands, has announced
that it would soon be launching mobile voice,
broadband Internet access and WiMax services
in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.
Mio
claimed that it would be the first in the
Caribbean to offer affordable unlimited
wireless broadband Internet access and voice
plans.
High
Speed Wireless Broadband will further enable
new IP (Internet Protocol) services such
as static IP addresses, VoIP (Voice over
IP), hosted and managed services, video
on demand, video conferencing, web hosting,
and many other services to be offered. Additionally,
it does not require a landline as ADSL does.
Marc
Dinee, VP of Sales and Marketing at the
Mio Group, stated at the time of the announcement
that: "Mio is determined to meet the
needs of the various segments in the Caribbean
market and, in that vein, we will be unveiling
a number of other new products and services
targeting these segments over the next several
months. We are very excited to introduce
our offerings of mobile voice, data, and
broadband services to consumers and businesses
in these islands. Our services provide our
customers with always-on connectivity and
high quality reliable services."
For information about the impact of e-commerce
on a number of the main offshore activities
which take place in the Aruba, click
on a link below to go to our specialist
E-commerce site Offshore-e-com.com
Sales and Distribution of Physical Products
Sales
and Distribution of Digital Products
Banking
and Financial Services (including Investment
Funds)
Corporate
Support Functions
To
see an analysis of the current state of
legal and tax issues surrounding offshore
e-commerce, click
here.
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Aruba Case Studies
This section will contain case studies of
e-commerce solutions applied to offshore
business activities carried out from Aruba.To
be kept updated as to our progress click
here.
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