Cable & Wireless

When I was a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Panama, both my cell phone and wireless internet were provided by Cable & Wireless, under the local Mas Movil brand. This got me thinking about this venerable company.

I first met C&W while sailing in the Caribbean in the 80’s and 90’s. Back then, they enjoyed a monopoly on phone and cable service in the islands. The iconic phone booths on Antigua used C&W credit cards, well known for their beautiful scenes. With the advent of cell phone technology, their monopoly is gone, but they are still around.

Here in Panama, they were the only phone service in many locations. In Ipeti, I found an abandoned solar powered C&W phone booth, which was once the village’s only phone link.

The British firm got its start by laying the only cable between India and Britain, then quickly spread cable all over the Atlantic Ocean, solidifying its dominance in the communication field.