Netherlands Antilles
Power & telecom standards in Netherlands Antilles
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered dial-up internet access, WiFi hotspot access and broadband ethernet access in Netherlands Antilles. We also offered Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access in Netherlands Antilles for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Netherlands Antilles uses 130V at 50Hz. Power outlets are type A, B, F and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Tempest Telecom provided local dial-up access numbers in Netherlands Antilles at $0.155/minute. Travelers could connect using any standard modem with an RJ-11 telephone adapter.
WiFi Hotspot Access
Tempest Telecom provided WiFi hotspot access in Netherlands Antilles at $19.95/day for unlimited browsing.
Adapters & Power
North American (Type A/B) plugs are compatible. An adapter may not be needed for US travelers.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Netherlands Antilles at a Glance
- Capital
- Willemstad
- Phone Code
- +599
- Voltage
- 130V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- A, B, F
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- Guilder
- Dial-up
- $0.155/min
- WiFi
- $19.95/day
About connectivity in Netherlands Antilles
The former Netherlands Antilles (dissolved 2010 into Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the BES islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba) used 110V/50Hz (unusual frequency for a 110V system) with Type A, Type B, and Type F outlets. The phone jack is RJ-11. Post-2010 the constituent islands maintain separate telecom operators (UTS Curaçao, TelEm Sint Maarten, etc.).
Antillean commercial Internet emerged in the late 1990s through UTS and predecessor operators. Mobile data dominates current access across the post-2010 constituent islands.
The Antillean prepaid international calling-card market through the 2000s served the modest outbound diaspora — concentrated in the Netherlands (the colonial-era diaspora community) and the United States.
Tempest Telecom served the Netherlands Antilles through dial-up POPs in Willemstad. The Caribbean maritime industry, the substantial offshore financial-services sector in Curaçao, and the cruise-tourism economy sustained Iridium demand.
Modern Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the BES islands have expanding FTTH and 4G LTE coverage.
Tempest's services across Netherlands Antilles, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Netherlands Antilles between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Netherlands Antilles drew from the same balance for pre-paid international voice calling, RADIUS-authenticated dial-up Internet roaming, metered Wi-Fi hotspot access, Iridium satellite voice, and Inmarsat BGAN data terminals. An attempted kiosk-payment federation (PATN, 1998) extended the same architecture to public Internet terminals but failed to reach scale.
Iridium satellite voice was available in Netherlands Antilles from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Netherlands Antilles; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
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