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After Føroya løgting (the Parliament) from 1906, has held a monopoly to conduct all communications in the Faroe Islands as a Public service, telecommunication regulations were deregulated by the Telecommunications Act of 23rd of May 1997. The objective of the Act is: • To promote a fair, effective and sustainable competition within the telecommunications sector for the benefit of all users • To encourage employment, innovation and competitiveness within the telecommunications sector The Act has created an independent government agency, The Telecommunications Authority, which is tasked with executing- and supervising that the objectives of the Act are complied with. Licences are granted by the Minister of Trade and Industry according to an open-door policy where applicants have to fullfill some basic criteria. Telecommunication opportunities Similar to elsewhere in the world, telecommunications technology in the Faroe Islands is undergoing rapid development and major changes occur every day. Generally, the telecommunications networks are of a high standard and at competitive prices. The Faroe Islands have 3 submarine cable connections, the Shefa-2 cable that stretches from the Faroe Islands to Shetland and Orkney onwards to the Scottish mainland. The FARICE submarine cable – stretching from Iceland to Faroe Islands onwards to Scotland, and the Cantat-3 submarine cable connection which is a transatlantic cable that reaches from Canada via Iceland and the Faroe Islands to the continent of Europe. Apart from usual telecommunication services PSTN, the service providers in the Faroe Islands offer the following services: • Wireless networks in GSM 900 • ISDN, xDSL, FWA and fibre • INTERNET – dial up and fixed. • Domestic and International Lease lines • Satellite services • DVB-T Television Services In 1999, the first licences were issued to other service providers, apart from the former monopoly held by Faroese Telecom. These licences granted permission to operate networks and provide services of various kinds, data-communications, Internet, PSTN and GSM networks. There is a more or less complete portofolio of interconnection services etc. available on the Faroese market |
