The purchase marks a deepening by InfoChannel of its involvement in the market, and simultaneously, Grace's exit, to focus on other aspects of its business.

"We are expanding in anticipation of the full deregulation of the telecommunications industry in under four months," said Terrelonge. "This acquisition will help us to further ourselves to improve our facilities and increase the range of services that we offer to our customers."

InfoChannel is Jamaica's second largest internet service provider, after Cable & Wireless Jamaica, and has, over the past year, been growing through acquisition. Since June last year it has snapped up World Telenet International, Jamaica On-Line Information Services Limited, and COLIS.

Yesterday, Terrelonge told the Business Observer that not only would the current Jamweb customers -- including Grace, Kennedy -- continue to benefit from the services to which they now had access, but that their range of services would be expanded.

The facilities provided by InfoChannel include a full range of voice products, global roaming with ipass as well as islandwide access to the network. The new customers will also have access to InfoChannel's asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service, a faster and more competitively priced product that was introduced in Jamaica last year.

InfoChannel, founded by Terrelonge in the late 1990s, was the first Jamaican company to openly challenge Cable & Wireless' monopoly in the voice-over-internet segment of the telecommunications market. InfoChannel in its early days had major legal and market fights with Cable & Wireless, helping to lay the groundwork for the bringing forward of the timetable for ending the company's monopoly.

Terrelonge said yesterday that the latest acquisition, by building critical mass at his organisation, would help to create a more efficient operation. Growth through acquisition, he stressed, was a major corporate strategy.

Terrelonge's success in building his internet firm was one of the bases for his nomination earlier this year, as a Business Observer Business Leader. That award was won by Donna Duncan-Scott, the managing director of Jamaica Money Market Brokers.

Brian Goldson, Grace, Kennedy's chief operating officer in charge of the services division, said that Jamweb was a profitable enterprise but that Grace wanted to exit the business.

"Although Jamweb is a growing and profitable operation, the company has made the decision to divest itself of this business unit because we are of the view that our effort should be channelled into the continued growth of our transaction-oriented businesses," said Goldson. "At the same time, this move now gives InfoChannel the opportunity to present itself to a wider base of internet customers."

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20021203T220000-0500_36114_OBS_INFOCHANNEL_ACQUIRES_GRACE_S_JAMWEB.asp