Planning permission would normally take up to three months, but somehow America Movil has been able to circumvent the approval process and go ahead with the erection of cell sites.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report yesterday, MiPhone's CEO Alejandro Guiterrez said: "On acquiring the licence from Oceanic, we inherited 100 cell sites. We are in the process of erecting another 500 sites and hope to complete that operation by next week. We will be using a state-of-the-art GSM network and hope to launch a brand new service sometime this year."

When pressed on allegations that MiPhone was conducting illegal erections that continue to irk some parish councils, Guiterrez said he had no knowledge of this and suggested that this writer submit his questions to him in an e-mail.

A member of the Manchester Parish Council speaking on condition of anonymity said, "MiPhone has been erecting towers here without the adequate approvals and then submitting their application after the sites have gone up. There are rules and regulations in Jamaica which all foreign companies must abide by. We already have had to place a stop order on MiPhone. We have presented them with several enforcement notices but the company blithely ignores them.

They simply work over the weekend and by Monday sites are up all over the place. No one seems to be able to stop them, they just do as they please. We normally conduct a community survey after NEPA grants approval, but the sites are going up before NEPA grants approval.

Reports reaching Caribbean Business Report indicate that as many as 175 sites have been erected without planning permission from the relevant parish councils and that the Minister of Local Government Bobby Montague is aware of the matter and is most displeased. Montague is presently in Canada and was unavailable for comment.

However, Caribbean Business Report understands that a meeting took place at the Ministry of Local Government on August 5th where the illegal erection of MiPhone's sites was discussed.

Before that meeting another meeting took place at the Ministry of Local Government where all three cellphone providers were present and the decision was taken by all concerned to reveal plans for further cell sites. MiPhone admitted that there were breaches and that it would endeavour to rectify the position.

The parishes of Portland, St Mary and Manchester have all issued MiPhone with stop orders until the company can suitably comply with regulations.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report last night, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Daryl Vaz said: "There were some problems with the illegal erection of cell sites mainly due to Chinese contractors. I have made it very clear that the appropriate planning permission from both the parish councils and NEPA have to be obtained before cell cites can be put up. I have been given assurances that MiPhone will now comply and that the matter can be laid to rest. NEPA should now be granting the appropriate approvals."

America Movil, which is headed by Carlos Slim, paid a high price to increase its presence in the Caribbean market by 29 per cent last year, when it acquired MiPhone and a Puerto Rico mobile company. It paid US$70 million for MiPhone and intends to bring on a third-generation GSM network which it says will help it overtake Digicel as the number one cellphone company in Jamaica. Digicel presently has close to two million subscribers in Jamaica, MiPhone is claiming 200,000 and Cable & Wireless has 650,000. Only last month Guiterrez claimed that with a 90 per cent penetration rate, the average talk time in Jamaica is 1,200 minutes per month! Cellphone insiders dismiss that claim as way over the top. In its first year in Jamaica, America Movil is aiming to bag 700,000 subscribers and then after three years take control of the mobile market.

"A mobile phone executive speaking with Caribbean Business Report last night said: " If America Movil is going to come into the Jamaican market, that is fine but it has to play by the rules like everybody else. You cannot be applying to put up cell sites and then go right on ahead before the requisite permission and permits have been granted.

"It is also important as a new player on the scene to pay your bills on time and to foster good relations with Jamaican businesses because if one fails to do so you may well be regarded warily. Media houses take you at your word if you say you will pay your bills on a timely basis. It is vital that you comply with government stipulations in matters like work permits and so forth. A good reputation is earned."

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