Al Edwards, Financial Editor 
O'BRIEN
IRISH MOBILE telephone
company Digicel is looking to extend its presence even further in the Caribbean and will be seeking to enter Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua, Bahamas and Turks & Caicos over the next twelve months.
This announcement was made by Digicel's chairman Mr. Dennis O'Brien as the special guest speaker at a meeting held by the St. Andrew North chapter of the Rotary Club at the Hilton Hotel, New Kingston on Monday night.
OVER US$600 MILLION INVESTED
"We have invested US$600
million in 4 years in 7 countries and we will be investing in another 5 countries. Digicel is now the fastest-growing telephone service company in the Caribbean. Forty per cent of the Caribbean is not yet liberalised and we will be going after that. We see ourselves as a Jamaican multi-national company run by local managers. Our main focus is the Caribbean region and we don't see ourselves going beyond that. We concentrate on territories that are yet to be liberalised."
Back in 2000, Digicel invested US$47 million in acquiring a
cellular licence from the Jamaican Government and so made its first foray into the region. Mr. O'Brien pointed out that when Digicel first entered the Jamaican market, it
was up against the entrenched monopoly that was Cable & Wireless. Back then, only 3 per cent of the population had mobile phones, the economy recorded
negative growth and the financial sector was still traumatised and the company found it difficult to attract local investors.
Now in 2005, it has 1.3 million customers, has redefined corporate marketing in Jamaica, confidence in the Jamaican economy has picked up, more foreign investors are doing business in Jamaica and the company has expanded into other territories in the Caribbean.
The company has put up an additional 13 cell cites in the last 45 days to cope with the demand on its network. "It is interesting to note that in the United States, 60 per cent of the population has a mobile phone, whereas in Jamaica it is 65 per cent. Cellular phone price rates have gone down by 60 per cent in Jamaica and Jamaica now offers the lowest mobile prices in the world.
MATURE MARKET
Mr. O'Brien said that out of a population of 2.5 million, there are 1.7 million mobile telephone users in Jamaica and though this may qualify Jamaica as a mature market, the company does not take that view and in fact, sees further scope for growth in Jamaica:
"The catastrophes that took place in Asia at the end of last year drives home the importance of the establishment of the Digicel Foundation and I must say that Harry Smith has done a wonderful job there. It was born out of the havoc wreaked upon the country by Hurricane Ivan. We initially put up $200 million but we will be looking to surpass that figure. I would like to take this opportunity to say that Grenada was absolutely devastated by Hurricane Ivan and I estimate that it will need approximately US$1 billion to help with its recovery efforts.
"I was attending a meeting in New York to discuss what could be done to help Grenada and the paltry sums offered by the United States and the UK were just insufficient. Digicel took the decision to put up US$3 million to help Grenada with its recovery efforts."
FORAY INTO SPORT
Though a regional cellular company, Digicel places great stock on both the social and civic fabric of the Caribbean said the company's chairman, hence its investment in sport, particularly cricket. "We saw it as vitally important that we became the main sponsors of the West Indies cricket team and I must say here that Cable & Wireless's behaviour over this
matter deserves rebuke. As a senior Caribbean minister told me, they are behaving like 17th century buckaneers. If we were in their position we would conduct ourselves like gentlemen and not attempt to hijack the game," said Mr. O'Brien.
Digicel will partake in an auction to acquire a licence in Trinidad & Tobago in March of this year. Mr. O'Brien pointed out that Trinidad charges the highest prices in the region but that it was an important market to have in its portfolio.
He proudly proclaimed that Digicel captured 50 per cent of the market in both St. Lucia and St. Vincent in only 6 weeks. Despite the fact that Digicel is looking to expand its presence in the region, Mr. O'Brien made it clear that it will not be seeking a cross listing on the region's stock exchanges.
