section_path: Media and telecommunications
section_name: Media and telecommunications
paragraph_text: Media and telecommunications
  
  Sint Maarten's first radio station, the Voice of St. Maarten (PJD-2), was founded on 23 December 1959 and was also heard in neighbouring islands. During its first several years, it employed two announcers and broadcast leased religious programming for most of its daily schedule. Television services were introduced to the territory in May 1963, starting in the Phillipsburg area and served by a relay station in the Fort Willem area which received programs from Puerto Rico; the Fort Willem site was chosen over the originally proposed one in French Quarter thanks to the latter's reception issues. Starting on 21 March of that year, groundwork was laid for an automatic telephone system.