Saint Pierre and Miquelon - Communications

Communications

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has four radio stations, all of them on the FM band (the last stations converted from the AM band in 2004). Three of the stations are on Saint-Pierre, two of which are owned by Outre-Mer 1ère, along with one 1ère station on Miquelon. At night, these stations broadcast France-Inter. The other station (Radio Atlantique) is an affiliate of Radio France Internationale. The nation is linked to North America and Europe by satellite communications for telephone and television service.

The department of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is served by three television stations: Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère (call letters FQN) on Channel 8, with a repeater on Channel 31, and Tempo on Channel 6. While Saint-Pierre and Miquelon use the French SECAM-K1 standard for television broadcasts, the local telecommunications provider (SPM Telecom) carries many North American television stations and cable channels, converted from North America's NTSC standard. In addition, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère is carried on Shaw Direct satellite and most digital cable services in Canada, converted to NTSC.

SPM Telecom is also the department's main Internet Service Provider, with its internet service being named "Cheznoo" (a play on Chez-Nous, French for "Our Place"). SPM Telecom also offers cellular phone and mobile phone service (for phones that adhere to the GSM standard). SPM Telecom uses the GSM 900 MHz band, which is different from the GSM 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands used in the rest of North America.

The islands are a separate country among radio amateurs. They also have a separate ITU prefix, FP. Therefore Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are visited by radio amateurs every year, mainly from the US, who activate the islands on amateur radio frequencies. These activities have made the islands well known among radio amateurs as the geographic location of Saint Pierre and Miquelon gives a very good takeoff for shortwave communication all over the world.