- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Lord Robertson, vice-chairman of Cable and Wireless plc.
Al Edwards, Financial Editor
Deputy Executive Chairman of Cable and Wireless plc, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, is truly a man for all seasons. He is lending his considerable abilities to add vim, vigour and vitality to the integrated telecommunications provider Cable & Wireless (C&W). A Scotsman, he was born in Port Ellen, Isle of Islay, in 1946 the son of a policeman. He became the 10th Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the North Atlantic Council. He has also been the Defence Secretary of the United King-dom, a Member of Parliament and was responsible for the Scottish Whisky industry from 1968-1978. He was appointed a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council in May 1997. Lord Robertson, spoke exclusively to Sunday Business from C&W's (Jamaica) Kingston headquarters last month.
SUNDAY BUSINESS: While the parent group's financial performance has not been a lot to write home about, the Jamaican arm of Cable & Wireless, under new boss Jacqueline Holding, appears to be rejuvenated and ready to deal effectively with its competitors. So, what is the vision now for Cable & Wireless plc?
Lord Robertson: "We have to be a world-class player in everything we do and we now have to be ahead of the game because there is no standing still in telecommunications. As a comprehensive telecommunications company, our focus is to be a total provider to our customers. We are rebuilding the U.K. division which is competing in a very difficult market.
"The national telcos are individual units that now come under a new international directorate headed by Harris Jones."
Harris Jones sits on the main board and comes with a very impressive track record in the telecommunications industry.
Lord Robertson declared that Cable & Wireless has now created a very strong centre where experience and expertise is shared but at the same time value is added to the individual countries in which C&W operates. The Caribbean is very central to that new strategy.
C&W recently took a controlling interest in Monaco Telecoms which runs the mobile telephone system in Kosovo and has a 20 per cent stake in a mobile system in Afghanistan.
"What we want to do is use that company as a method of offering our services to other small, independent states. We have a good record of running independent telecoms companies and we can add serious value to what these countries have yet at the same time they can keep their identity," he said.
NEW REVENUE STREAMS
The British telecoms giant is keenly eyeing the new nation states eager to become a part of the EU. They spell new revenue streams and new markets and indeed further outposts to carry the C&W brand. Lord Robertson sees C&W expanding itself by going into Europe, North Africa and the Francophone world.
"We also have a big interest in a Bahrain telecoms company called Bartelco and we see that as a hub for the Middle East. Our improved abilities have been perfected in the Caribbean and it has provided us with a model where we can go to small countries and say, look we can run your telecommunications systems, maintain your identity and give you a competitive advantage by utilising our skills across the globe."
The Caribbean has undoubtedly been the jewel in the crown for this British telecoms empire. In other territories where its presence has been reduced it still continues to prosper in the West Indies.
How does it intend to continue to maintain its dominance?
"This is a new C&W which had to be reborn after the crisis of three years ago. We have had to focus on where we are strong and that as you know is the Caribbean. Traditionally it has been good to us but there have been times when we have become complacent. What we have to do now, not just because we are faced with competition, is to deliver to those countries products and services that are necessary.
"Our roots are deep in the region and that is the difference between us and some of the short term competitors. We do a lot of uneconomic things like placing fixed lines in the rural communities and we do not make money on that. We also provide telephone boxes for the public which isn't designed to be a revenue earner. That is part of the package of being a national telecoms provider.
"So you see other people come in with fancy marketing gimmicks sell a few phones and then move on. We are here to stay. because we have been here for over a 130 years. The sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team was 19 years long and that is an indication of our level of commitment to the Caribbean.
"What is sweeping through the Caribbean is deregulation, liberalisation, the introduction of regulators, patents and control of prices. This now means we have to adapt and we have."
What role should a telecoms company play in the 21st century?
"Well it obviously has to make a contribution to the economy. One of the biggest single contributing factors to economic growth is having an advanced telecommunications system. Telecoms companies only make a long term return on their investment when you identify with the local communities. Getting kids interested in computers gives them access to the outside world and at the same time it is good for business."
How important is the Internet?
"The Internet is the future because pretty soon the way we communicate will be obsolete because the world-wide web will carry voice, data and will bring into your home information and entertainment and that is what Cable & Wireless is developing. We are expanding broadband into Jamaica very fast. The Internet has shrunk the world of communications."
The future of Cable&Wireless?
"Hurricane Ivan illustrated what we are all about. Our system stood up where others could not. We connected Jamaica, Grenada and Cayman to the outside world. We also mobilised people providing supplies and providing assistance to people in need. We deployed staff into the crisis areas where other companies could not. We donated millions of US dollars to the three countries affected by the hurricane. And that is what is needed here.
"You don't want a bunch of small unreliable profit seeking operations coming here with no infrastructure looking for a pricing policy that helps them make a quick buck then they disappear. Only a company that has scale and expertise is going to last and that is what C&W has."
