Digicel ended a successful 2007 with more than six million customers, the company has revealed.
Denis O’Brien’s mobile operator expanded its presence in the Caribbean and Central American market during the year, starting business operations in Suriname, Guyana and El Salvador. Its total investment in the region exceeds US$1.9bn and it is the largest GSM operator in the area.
“Digicel’s progress in 2007 reinforced our position as the Caribbean’s leading mobile service provider and demonstrated delivery of sustained growth in our current markets, strategically expanding operations in new markets and providing exciting, first-to-market technology innovations to all of our customers,” said Colm Delves, Digicel Group CEO.
The company won mobile licences in new markets during 2007, including those allowing it to operate GSM networks in the British Virgin Islands and Honduras.
According to Digicel, significant investment is planed in Honduras to build a world-class network and operation that will increase mobile penetration within the next five years from approximately 38pc of the population to 75pc.
During the year Digicel also expanded its product portfolio, bringing a low-cost mobile handset called ‘Coral’ to most of the markets in which it operates. The Coral phone is manufactured for Digicel by Vodafone in collaboration with ZTE.
Digicel also launched BlackBerry Curve devices and a new GPS vehicle tracking device for fleet management companies. It also announced it is rolling out personalised mobile broadband services and mobile TV across its markets.
A new partnership with Vodafone in 2007 saw Digicel offer a wider range of roaming services. The two companies are working together to jointly develop innovative products and services. Digicel has signed roaming agreements with 245 partners in 130 countries around the world.
“2007 was a phenomenal year of growth for Digicel,” added Delves. “As we look ahead to 2008, we are very excited about further strengthening our presence in current markets, strategically expanding our business operations in new markets and continuing to bring new technology innovations and products to all of our customers.”
By Niall Byrne
