Digicel opens in T&T

Trinidad and Tobago Telecoms 100-year-old monopoly ends with entrance of new player

Digicel began offering service in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday in the highly anticipated launch that has given customers a choice of wireless providers and marks the conclusion of an over 100-year telecommunications monopoly.

Digicel opened its retail doors from as early as 6:30 a.m. to a swell of excited customers that crowded the new Digicel stores, trying new handsets, inquiring about plans, and signing-up for Digicel’s “Expect More, Get More” service, which aims to be a superior offering compared to service from Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), the incumbent partially owned by the London-based telecommunications company, Cable & Wireless. {{more}}

“Our history shows that if people are under serviced and dissatisfied, they vote with their fingers and that has happened in every market that Digicel has entered, effectively punishing the incumbent for bad service and high prices for the past 100 years,” said Denis O’Brien, Founder and Chairman of Digicel Group.

“Digicel and the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago prevailed in creating competition in the market delivering benefits for customers and businesses that want better communication services despite the incumbent’s deliberate attempt to delay our entry through a slow interconnect process. Communications technology is at the heart of all nations and the needs of customers in Caribbean markets such as Trinidad and Tobago have gone underserved for far too long. That has all changed starting today with the launch of Digicel’s service in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a great milestone in the country’s history, and we are proud to be a part of it as we approach our five-year anniversary,” added O’Brien.

With a population of 1.3 million people and significant energy based natural resources, Trinidad and Tobago represents one of the largest markets in the Caribbean.

Since winning a licence in June to provide wireless service, Digicel had quickly ramped up its operations investing nearly US$200 million to create a state-of-the-art network and a well trained workforce of over 300 employees that are key to providing superior support that separates Digicel from its competition. Digicel T&T is led by 15-year telecommunications expert, Stephen Brewer, former CEO of Vodafone Ireland (previously Eircell).

In the past week, Digicel launched services in Antigua and Barbuda and secured an operating licence in Turks and Caicos Islands following the landmark conclusion in January this year of the 106-year telecommunications monopoly held by Cable & Wireless. The company has moved quickly in the first quarter of 2006 as it continues its expansion across the region including the imminent launch of service in Haiti.