At the same time, the cellular service provider's attorney Harold Brady said last night that "Centennial is here to stay."

The announced job cuts were linked to what Centennial described as part of its "effort to create a more efficient organisational structure, as the company moves to align its operations with its business focus".

In a statement yesterday, the company called the cuts unfortunate and regrettable, but necessary.

There were no specifics on the number of redundancies nor when the cuts would occur. Mr. Brady said he did not have the details and the company's managing director Jim Beneda left the island on Thursday.

Information to The Gleaner indicated that Mr. Beneda is meeting with Oceanic Digital Communications, which last month acquired full control of Paradise Wireless Jamaica, the company that owns the licence under which Centennial operates. Oceanic, a private American company, formerly held 49 per cent of Paradise, while the publicly listed Centennial Communication Corp had the other 51 per cent.

Sources say Oceanic has its own ideas on strategies for the company. Other sources say a name change is being contemplated for Centennial.

Mr. Beneda and Oceanic directors are due in the island early next week, Mr. Brady confirmed, and "a more fulsome direction will be announced", likely by Tuesday, he told The Gleaner.

Meantime, he adds that the Centennial expansion programme for full island coverage has been ongoing, and service can now be had as far as Santa Cruz in St. Elizabeth.

The company has a broadband 800 MHz CDMA cellular licence for Jamaica. At $7 per minute, Centennial offers the lowest cellular rates of the three providers in Jamaica.

Centennial has already spent US$85 million ($4 billion) funds largely used to develop telecoms infrastructure to support its operations ­ and plans to invest another US$45 million by the end of its third year of operation, Beneda had said in February. The company hopes to turn a profit by 2004.

According to the figures last published in February, Centen-nial employed 178 persons directly. Mr. Beneda said then, that staff would have been increased to 350-400 in the short term as it expanded.

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