Digicel

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Digicel Group Limited

Type	Private - owned by Denis O'Brien
Founded	2001
Headquarters	Kingston, Jamaica
Key people	Colm Delves (CEO) Denis O'Brien (Executive Chairman)
Industry	Mobile telecommunications
Products	Mobile networks, Telecom services, WiMAX Broadband, Etc.
Employees	~4,000 (2008)
Website	Digicel Group Ltd. Digicel Pacific Ltd.

Digicel is a mobile phone network provider in the Caribbean region. Based in Jamaica, the company provides mobile services in 23 in the Caribbean and Central America with more than six million wireless users. Digicel is preparing to launch in the British Virgin Islands, Honduras and Panama which will bring it to a total of 26 markets. Meanwhile its sister operation Digicel Pacific to date (Jan 2008) operates in three markets in the South Pacific (Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga) with launches imminent in Fiji and Vanuatu. [1] The company's largest competitor in the Caribbean region is Cable & Wireless's bmobile brand.

1 History
2 Competitive Issues with Incumbents
3 Digicel Expansion
- 3.1 Digicel Pacific
4 Partnership with ezetop
5 Partnership with Vodafone
6 Digicel Foundation
7 Caribbean & Central American Operations
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

Digicel, first established April, 2001 in Jamaica grew to 100,000 customers in approximately 100 days. In the 7 years since the initial launch, Digicel's Jamaican customer base has grown to 1.9 million users (March 2008). In Haiti, where they launched operations in May 2006, the company reached 1.4 million subscribers by May 2007 and now has more than two million customers. Digicel is 100% owned by Irish entrepreneur Denis O'Brien. The company has a marketshare of roughly 70% in Jamaica.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Competitive Issues with Incumbents

The majority of Digicel networks start up in countries where the telecommunications market has been newly liberalised. As a result there have been numerous rows between Digicel executives and former state incumbent operators over interconnect agreements. This has led to Digicel taking some incumbent operators to court. [2] [3]

[edit] Digicel Expansion

In 2006 Digicel expanded into the South American mainland as well as the Pacific. On September 2006 Digicel acquired an unrelated mobile phone provider Digicel Holdings in El Salvador, rebranding it as El Nuevo Digicel, and a mobile telecommunications license in Guatemala. Then in December 2007 Digicel won a highly competitive bid for a mobile license in Honduras and expects to launch in its second Central American country in 2008. Digicel in Guatemala must be launch before June 18th (2008), when its authorization expires. In 2007 Digicel also expanded their presence in South America and in the country of Guyana, acquiring U*Mobile, now rebranded as Digicel Guyana Ltd as well as launching in Suriname (December 2007) and French Guiana (June 2006). Digicel now operates in 23 markets. Digicel won the licence to operate in Panama in May, 2008.

[edit] Digicel Pacific

Digicel's sister operation in the Pacific Islands region currently operates in Samoa and in Papua New Guinea and Tonga. The company also has been issued a license to operate a GSM license from the Government of Fiji and Vanuatu, as well as an experimental licence in the Solomon Islands [4]. At the start of 2008, construction of mobile telephony infrastructure in Vanuatu is well underway. It is widely expected that Digicel will commence GSM service in Vanuatu in 2008.

[edit] Partnership with ezetop

On 20th March 2007, Digicel signed an agreement with ezetop to provide mobile credit to the Diaspora across the world. ezetop currently markets Digicel top-up for Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Guyana and Samoa in retail stores in the US, the UK and online around the world at their website.

A Digicel Top-Up sign at a flower shop in Antigua & Barbuda.

[edit] Partnership with Vodafone

On 6 February 2007, Digicel signed a three-year partnership agreement with Vodafone. Though both will remain separate and independent companies, the agreement, which includes Digicel's sister operation in Samoa, will result in the offering of new roaming capabilities. The two groups will also become preferred roaming partners of each other.[5], [6]

[edit] Digicel Foundation

Digicel and its shareholders set up a foundation that has been actively involved in charitable work throughout the Caribbean involving a wide range of school and sports projects as well as providing assistance after Hurricane Ivan devastated many of the islands, especially Grenada and the Cayman Islands.^{[citation needed]} To date the Digicel Foundation in Jamaica has allocated US$7 million to sustainable development community projects in the country. In Haiti the Digicel Foundation built 20 primary schools in its first year.

[edit] Caribbean & Central American Operations

The Caribbean & Central American operations of Digicel Group (October 2006).

**Digicel Caribbean & Centran American Territories**
Territory	GSM & CDMA Frequencies		Local Sites
Anguilla	900/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda	850/900 MHz	800 MHz (planned)	Digicel Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba	900/1800 MHz	1900 MHz	Digicel Aruba
Barbados	900/1800/1900 MHz	800/1900 MHz	Digicel Barbados
Bermuda	1900 MHz	1900 MHz	Digicel Bermuda
Bonaire	900/1800 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Bonaire
Curaçao	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Curaçao
Dominica	900/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Dominica
El Salvador	900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel El Salvador
French Guyana	900/1800 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel French Windies & French Guiana
Grenada	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Grenada
Guadalupe	900/1800 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel French Windies & French Guiana
Guatemala (planned 2008)	900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Group
Guyana	900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Guyana
Haiti	1800/1900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Haiti
Honduras (planned 2008)	1900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Group
Cayman Islands	850/900/1800/1900 MHz	800/1900 MHz	Digicel Cayman Islands
Jamaica	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz	Digicel Jamaica
Martinique	900/1800 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel French Windies & French Guiana
Panama (planned 2009)	1900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Group
Saint Kitts and Nevis	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Saint Kitts & Nevis
Saint Lucia	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel St. Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	900/1800/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Suriname	900 MHz	NO CDMA	Digicel Suriname
Turks & Caicos Islands	900/1900 MHz	1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Turks & Caicos
Trinidad & Tobago	850/1900 MHz	800/1900 MHz (planned)	Digicel Trinidad & Tobago