InfoChannel acquires World Telenet International ONE OF Jamaica's leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs), InfoChannel, said it has acquired World Telenet International, another ISP in the island, for an undisclosed sum. Chairman and chief executive officer of InfoChannel, Patrick Terrelonge, said yesterday that World Telenet was acquired for an "attractive price", but they have decided not to reveal the value of the transaction because InfoChannel was currently negotiating the take-over of other companies. Mr. Terrelonge said the two entities would be initially operated as separate organisations, but eventually they would be merged. In a release, Mr. Terrelonge said the acquisition was part of his company's effort to meet its growth target over the next five years by acquiring or partnering with other ISPs to provide services in Jamaica, the wider Caribbean, as well as to Jamaicans in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. It said directors of World Telenet had put up the company for sale earlier this year in keeping with the organisation's strategic objective to enter into other technology areas. Mr. Terrelonge said the silent deal was structured to the benefit of both organisations and has enabled them to each satisfy their immediate requirements for further expansion into other areas of development. The release also quoted chairman and chief executive officer of World Telenet, Victor Lowe, as saying that the long awaited transition into the call centre environment into which the former principals of World Telenet have entered, was one which they had eagerly anticipated since 1997. Mr. Lowe said that among the primary considerations in the sale of World Telenet was the ease of transition to existing World Telenet customers. "Every effort was made to ensure that the transition was seamless for our customer base," he said. According to Mr. Terrelonge, the acquisition "will provide subscribers of InfoChannel and World Telenet with easier access to the Internet because with the acquisition, a greater pool of domestic access lines will now become available. World Telenet customers who formerly had only Kingston-based access will now have the opportunity to benefit from InfoChannel's islandwide service," he said. In addition, he said, the consolidation of World Telenet's V-SAT technology into InfoChannel's would also provide greater capacity and facilitate the provision of a more cost effective service for customers. Last year, both InfoChannel and World Telenet had their telephone lines disconnected after they were accused of being involved in illegal bypass operations. As a result, they challenged the authority of Cable & Wireless Jamaica in disconnecting the lines, as well as that of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) in issuing the directive, but the court ruled against the Internet Service Providers.
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