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Dominican Republic Communications
One of the most modern and dynamic sectors of the
Dominican
economy was the telecommunications industry, which
surpassed its
counterparts in every Latin American and Caribbean nation
in
terms of technology. Telecommunications services, however,
were
largely concentrated in urban areas.
The most impressive and technologically advanced
component of
the nation's telecommunications network was its phone
system.
Codetel, a wholly owned subsidiary of the United States
company
GTE, operated approximately 90 percent of the 250,000-unit
national phone system under the regulatory authority of
the
General Directorate for Telecommunications of the
Secretariat of
State for Public Works and Communications. Codetel planned
to
double the number of phones in the country by the
mid-1990s. Some
of the advanced features of the phone system included
direct
domestic and international dialing, toll-free access to
the
United States through "800" numbers, incoming toll-free or
WATS
service, high-speed data transmission capabilities,
fiber-optic
cables, digital switching, and a full range of services
usually
available only to consumers in the United States. In 1987
the
Dominican Republic became the second Latin American
country to
boast cellular mobile telephones, and it was the only
developing
country in the hemisphere to offer this service to the
public on
a national basis. Codetel and other companies also offered
telex,
electronic mail, telenet, and facsimile services to the
public. A
member of the International Telecommunications Satellite
Organization (Intelsat), the country possessed a satellite
earth
station, submarine cable to the United States Virgin
Islands, and
microwave stations. In 1989 a fiber-optic cable to Puerto
Rico
was completed to expedite sophisticated data transmission
to the
United States.
The Dominican Republic's unique advantage in terms of
telecommunications technology allowed the creation of new
industries derived from the growing field of information
technology. For example, four free zones in the Dominican
Republic served information industries, and the free zone
in San
Isidro was a teleport with direct links to United States
telecommunications networks. These new information
industries
provided a wide range of innovative services that were
creating a
comparative advantage for the republic by the late 1980s.
These
services included data entry, telemarketing support for
United
States companies, response to toll-free service calls for
Hispanic consumers in the United States, computer graphics
services, computer software development, and
Spanish-English
translation services. Potentially, any computer-based
service
available in the United States that could be transmitted
via
satellite or through fiber-optic cables could be handled
in the
Dominican Republic.
Data as of December 1989
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