Page 15 - CANCION 1ST QTR 2020

e-Suriname: Securing

the Digital Future

Mike Antonius
CEO
Telesur

n trying times such as these the importance of good
telecom infrastructure becomes evident” says Mike
Antonius, CEO of the telecommunications company,
“ITelesur. From his office window in the capital of
Suriname – Paramaribo – he is looking out at the city. “When we
introduced 5G in November 2019 many people were skeptical.
They were convinced of the fact that Suriname didn’t yet need high
mobile band width. But today, when many businesses are asking
their staff to work from home in order to protect our society from
the spread of the Corona virus – COVID-19 – our 5G infrastructure
is ready and able to accommodate them.”

“When we implemented the e-Suriname vision we pictured a society
where every individual has the telecom facilities to develop their
ideas and dreams, and realize their potential”, Antonius continues.
He indicates that with an old copper fixed network and a limited area
covered by mobile sites this dream was not going to be realized.
An extensive plan was put in place; the local fixed infrastructure
was upgraded with fiber and the mobile network was extended
to (almost) all regions in the country. After upgrading to 4G LTE
in 2019 the opportunity presented itself to expand the mobile
network with 5G technology. After a delay of roughly one month
Telesur could finally announce the availability of 5G in Suriname
on November 25th, 2019.

“ It is devastating to see what havoc the COVID-19 health crisis
is wreaking in the world today. We have to prepare for the worst
and pray for the best. On the other hand, this situation will force
us to look at more e-solutions at a quicker pace. Telecom providers
now have an extra responsibility to always make sure that we can
keep our people in touch.”

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