THE UNTAPPED ROAMING MARKET provided by hundreds of thousands of tourists is what Telcom Holdings is after through its pending Sunbeach acquisition.

Acknowledging that the local market was limited, Dr Joseph Laquis, a principal of Telcom Holdings which operates LaqTel Communications in Trinidad and Tobago, said the market size was not a major concern.

"I think the Sunbeach operation will be very successful and we are keen even though we are doing a lot of work with LaqTel in Trinidad," he told THE NATION's BUSINESS AUTHORITY.

"We are confident that there is room for another player because the cost of rolling out CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) in Barbados is not very high. The total cost is about US$16 million, whereas in Trinidad it is about US$49 million.

"What you have that we don't in Trinidad is well over a million tourists who are unable to roam on their Verizon and Sprint phones which are CDMA and this will give them an opportunity to be able to roam with Sunbeach,"
he added.

A team from Telcom Holdings led by Michael Barrow, LaqTel's chief executive officer, is in Barbados awaiting final approval from the Energy and Public Utilities Ministry on the cellular licence held by Sunbeach.

The company has already deposited US$2.59 million in escrow with Caribbean Money Market Brokers Barbados
for the buyout.

Meanwhile, general manager of City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union, Steve Belle, said he welcomed
the news of a
possible takeover.

New partner

The credit union, which has $1 million invested in Sunbeach shares, was committed to the investment and was willing to work with the new business partner to the benefit of its members, said Belle.

He said it was too early for COB to make a decision about selling
its shares.

Sunbeach has been suspended from trading its shares on the Barbados Stock Exchange for the past year because of concerns about its financial position
at the end of its 2004 financial year.