Antigua has had an impressive road network since colonial times, mainly because of its relatively flat terrain. There are in excess of 250 kilometers (155 miles) of roads, about 25 percent of which can be classified as highway. Buses usually operate on a limited service, and taxis charge fixed rates. The number of motor cars continues to grow annually as the country has one of the highest per capita incomes in the anglophone (English-speaking) Caribbean. There are 77 kilometers (48 miles) of railroad tracks in the country, used almost exclusively for transporting sugar cane.
The island's lone international airport, V. C. Bird International, is located north-east of St. John's. It is serviced by several international airlines including American Airlines, British Airways, Air Canada, Air France, and BWIA. Antigua also has an excellent seaport which accommodates containerized cargo with state-of-the-art
| Communications | ||||||||
| Country | Telephones a | Telephones, Mobile/Cellular a | Radio Stations b | Radios a | TV Stations a | Televisions a | Internet Service Providers c | Internet Users c |
| Antigua & Barbuda | 28,000 (1996) | 1,300 (1996) | AM 4; FM 2; shortwave 0 | 36,000 | 2 | 31,000 | 16 | 8,000 |
| United States | 194 M | 69.209 M (1998) | AM 4,762; FM 5,542; shortwave 18 | 575 M | 1,500 | 219 M | 7,800 | 148 M |
| Jamaica | 353,000 (1996) | 54,640 (1996) | AM 10; FM 13; shortwave 0 | 1.215 M | 7 | 460,000 | 21 | 60,000 |
| St. Lucia | 37,000 | 1,600 | AM 2; FM 7; shortwave 0 | 111,000 | 3 | 32,000 | 15 | 5,000 |
| a Data is for 1997 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| b Data is for 1998 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| c Data is for 2000 unless otherwise noted. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [Online]. | ||||||||
equipment. Heritage Quay pier in St. John's was constructed solely to accommodate cruise ships.
Electricity is produced by the state-owned Antigua Public Utility Authority (APUA). In 1999 the company produced 90 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). All electricity is produced from oil as the island does not have hydro plants or any other type of generation plants.
Domestic telecommunications services are provided by the APUA while the British-based multi-national Cable and Wireless, through Cable and Wireless Antigua Ltd., provides international telecommunications services. In 1994 it was estimated that the country had about 20,000 telephone lines in use. International traffic is moved via a submarine fibre optic cable as well as an Intelsat earth station. Cable and Wireless, through its Carib-surf subsidiary, is the main Internet service provider with about 6,000 Internet subscribers. In January 2001, Antigua Computer Technology (ACT) was launched as the second Internet service provider with a start-up capacity to connect at least 1,000 subscribers. The country has 2 television broadcast stations and an estimated 31,000 television sets.
Thank you,
Lee Woods
Cocoa, FL