By McPherse Thompson, Staff Reporter
Mark McDonald, a director of Knutsford Telecoms (left) and fellow director David Goldson during the launch of "Dream Card", a prepaid calling card, at the Terra Nova Hotel, St. Andrew on Wednesday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
A group of young entrepreneurs have invested more than $10 million into starting a new prepaid calling card to compete primarily against Cable & Wireless Jamaica's (C&WJ) World Talk in the local telecommunications market.
The "Dream Card", being offered by Knutsford Telecoms, has been branded with the dream icons of Supreme Ventures' Cashpot lottery game, thereby allowing its users to also get clues to playing the game of chance. "it plays upon the Jamaican psyche of interpreting their dreams," explained David Goldon, one of the directors of Knutsford Telecoms, which launched the product at the Terra Nova Hotel in St. Andrew on Wednesday evening.
The product launch, at a cocktail reception, followed the granting earlier this year of two licenses to Knutsford Telecoms to compete in both international and domestic voice service.
Mr. Goldson, a registered professional engineer and one of the main architects of the business, told the Financial Gleaner that the "Dream Card" comes in $100, $200 and $500 denominations and would allow users to call within as well as outside of Jamaica at "very competitive prices."
He said the per minute charge to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, priced at $20.90 during peak and off-peak periods, and $20.50 on weekends, was among the lowest in the market at this time. However, the per minute charge for local calls would be in line with those currently charged by C&WJ for its World Talk product. "For local calls, we can't be cheaper than the World Talk because we have to buy minutes from C&WJ and so at this time we are not as competitive in the local market as we would like," said the director. The "Dream Card" is only compatible with telephones on the fixed link network.
Mr. Goldson, who used to operate "International Phone Yard" in Portmore, St. Catherine, offering long-distance telephone calls, but whose business was "shut down" by the then monopoly international voice service provider C&WJ some time ago, said the idea to market a prepaid calling card began taking shape about a year ago.
Along with a group that included Mark McDonald, a former vice-president in charge of special projects at C&WJ, Mr. Goldson said they surveyed the telecoms industry, recognising that it has experienced tremendous growth since its liberalisation began with the passage of a new law more than two years ago.
"We embarked on a project," he said, seeking to enter the market with a product that would be "cost competitive, easy to use and appealing to customers." Mr. Goldson said they took note that there was no real competition to the World Talk prepaid calling card and felt it was the right time to stimulate the market.
Mr. Goldson said that notwithstanding the per minute prices being charged for telephone calls using the "Dream Card", Knutsford Telecoms was expected to lower those rates when the telecommunications market has been fully liberalised in March 2003.
"Cable & Wireless has dominated the market and based on our licences we have to start with the wholesale prices" set by the telecommunications carrier, from which Knutsford Telecoms bought voice minutes for retail.
A senior design engineer and director at consulting engineers Hue Lyew Chin Engineering, as well as owner of the Western Union franchise in Portmore, Mr. Goldson said the "Dream Card" was the first of several products to be unveiled by Knutsford Telecoms.
Asked if the company had considered introducing per second billing, a major sell for mobile player Digicel Jamaica, whose subscriber base shot to 365,000 during its first year of operation, the director said that was something they could examine, but it was not possible at this time, primarily because they had to buy voice minutes wholesale from C&WJ.
Wayne Chen, managing director of the islandwide chain of SuperPlus supermarkets, who also spoke at the launch of the calling card, lauded the directors for staying in Jamaica and getting involved in what he said was a sound investment despite its risks. "What we see here this evening is a spirit of entrepreneurship" and "we need more of that in this country," he said.
And Phillip Paulwell, the Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, said more than US$300 million has been invested in the local telecoms sector since liberalisation began less than three years ago.
Mr. McDonald, the other director of Knutsford Telecoms, holds an MBA, is a Certified Processional Accountant and currently a consultant with the Airports Authority of Jamaica. He also owns an optical retail chain.
