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Cellular service provider Digicel on Friday formally began operating in Antigua & Barbuda, having last year also acquired the company that was operated in the twin island by Cingular Wireless. Digicel said it would spend US$6 million to expand and improve the existing GSM network in the island.
The Irish telecoms company which came to the region in 2001 when it acquired a licence to operate in Jamaica, has been on an aggressive expansion throughout the region. Last year, it acquired the regional assets of Cingular Wireless' Caribbean and Bermuda assets. That included the operation in Antigua and Barbuda. On Friday, Digicel's principal and chairman Denis O'Brien said his company intended to replicate the success it has had elsewhere in the region, in Antigua and Barbuda, "as we continue to pursue our goal of developing a seamless panCaribbean network, and beyond". A press release from Digicel on Friday quoted Antigua & Barbuda's prime minister Baldwin Spencer, as praising the telecoms for its "impressive track record in placing the Caribbean region at the cutting edge of mobile telecommunications technology as well as being a community-minded telecoms provider." Spencer is reported to have welcomed Digicel, saying that its presence in the region was "marking a new era of positive competition and development in the mobile telecommunications market". Digicel's launch in this island of 442 square miles and 68,722 people is among the steps taken so far this year by the investor to deepen its reach in the region. The company recently began negotiating for the acquisition of Bouygues Telecom Caraïbe in the French West Indies and is also finalising plans to roll-out WiMAX in Jamaica to offer fixed and mobile broadband communications for voice and data services to 1.4 million customers throughout the island. Said O'Brien in commenting on the recent launch: "Our speed to market and ability to create brand loyalty is key to our success in the region..This dynamic approach to business is having a profound impact on local economies as we challenge competitors in a manner that drives positive business development." Digicel says it intends to expand to Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana with the acquisition of Bouygues Telecom Caraibe, "subject to all the appropriate and necessary approvals". Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and has operations in fifteen countries. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/onhold/20060401T220000-0500_101685_OBS_DIGICEL_INVESTING_US__M_IN_SERVICE_IN_ANTIGUA_AND_BARBUDA_.asp |
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