DIGICEL LAUNCHED its telecommunications services in the Netherlands Antilles island of Bonaire yesterday.
Situated off the coast of Venezuela, part of ABC island group (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), Bonaire has a population of 10,791. The new service connects the ABC group for the first time under one seamless GSM network.
In April 2006, Digicel entered the Bonaire market through its acquisition of majority shareholding in Antilliano Por NV. The company has operated in the Netherlands Antilles since its 2002 launch in Aruba. In March 2005, Digicel acquired Curaçao Telecom, which was recently re-branded as Digicel.
The company recently opened three retail stores and 110-top up locations on the island.
NOW UNITED
"Finally the ABC islands are now united," said Kenneth Gijsbertha, Minister of Transport and Communications for the Netherlands Antilles, who welcomed the building of a pan-Netherlands Antilles network.
"The entry of Digicel into the Bonaire market represents the fall of monopoly and the rise of real competition. Competition promises to bring better service, more innovation and most importantly of all, lower rates for the mobile customer in Bonaire," added Minister Gijsbertha.
Hans Lute, CEO of Digicel Netherlands Antilles said, "We are very committed to growing our business operations."
Digicel's Bonaire operations are led by Bert Schreuders, former Digicel's head of customer relations for the Netherlands Antilles. The company currently has operations in 20 Caribbean markets with more than two million subscribers.
