Karib Cable launches ‘Triple Play’

The price of telecommunication services can be driven down further and the providers will still be profitable, according to Minister of Telecommunications Dr Jerol Thompson.{{more}}

Dr Thompson made this point to SEARCHLIGHT earlier this week as he reflected on last week’s launch of Karib Cable’s fixed-line service here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

He said that it was his impression that in 2008, both of the telecommunications companies (Digicel and LIME) made “substantial profits” and he expects profitability to continue in the industry, with the advent of Karib Cable’s entry into the fray.

Dr Thompson said that while the telecommunications market has been legally liberalized since 2001, this is the first time that the liberalization has been seen in the fixed-line market, which he said is “a very important step.”

The Minister, who addressed last week’s grand breakfast launch of the service which was held at the Cobblestone Restaurant, said that he was looking forward with excitement to the various deals that will be offered with the introduction of Karib Cable’s triple play (internet/ fixed line and Cable TV) promotions.

Dr Thompson, who is the current chairman of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunication Authority (ECTEL), said that he was proud to know that St Vincent and the Grenadines is the first country in the Caribbean to offer triple play services to telecommunications customers.

Minister Thompson told SEARCHLIGHT that it was good to see an indigenous company strive in the local telecommunications market because since the liberalization of telecommunications in the region, local companies have “not fared too well.”

Meanwhile, speaking at last week’s launch, head of the National telecommunications regulatory Commission (NTRC) Apollo Knights said that it was not easy to attract investors to the fixed line market because it was costly to build a fixed line network.

Knights said that there is room for expansion in the fixed line market, noting that only half of the households in this country have fixed line services, while calls costs as much as 10 times less than on mobile phones.

At last week’s launch of the service, owner of Karib Cable Kelly Glass said that with the introduction of the fixed line service, in addition to the company’s cable and internet services, Karib cable is now in the “same bracket as all top class cable providers in the world.”

Glass said that his company “gambled and invested heavily” in its fiber optic network, which he said was designed by the same company which designed the network of Roger’s Cable, the leading cable company in North America.

“The (telecommunications) industry is one of the fastest growing industries by way of technology, and if you fall behind, you will struggle to keep up,” Glass said.

Glass also said that his company intends to continue to expand its reach as it relates to providing telecommunications service in this country, saying that things are being put in place to have all their services available in the Southern Grenadine island of Mayreau.

Karib Cable’s Marketing Department is promising hundreds of dollars of savings to customers who take advantage of their triple play offer.