A new era is dawning in telecommunications across the Caribbean. The telecoms giant once known as Cable & Wireless has given way to a brand new company called LIME, which seeks to bring a fresh, bold and radical transformation to the region’s telecommunications market.{{more}}

On Friday, October 31, 2008, at Grenadine House, the company once known as Cable & Wireless unveiled its new Caribbean business dubbed ‘LIME’. The brand was launched simultaneously throughout the Caribbean on Monday, November 3, 2008. The acronym ‘LIME’ stands for Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment. LIME

Angus Steele, Country Manager, explained: “Cable & Wireless remains the parent company, that’s Cable & Wireless International. LIME would be our Caribbean trading name…The only logo as a Caribbean company serving all 13 businesses in the Caribbean would be LIME. We are not going to retain any of the logos, Cable & Wireless Broadband, bMobile…everything would be LIME. LIME represents our company. We are a full service provider; we are going to leverage our full service provider status.”

LIME provides a full suite of telecoms services, including home phone, Internet access, mobile phones, ringtone downloads, phone calls via Internet, Cable TV (in some markets only) and data, networking and hosting services for business customers.

LIME, which operates exclusively in the Caribbean, currently offers services in 13 markets across the Caribbean. Steele said the announcement is more than a name change or a new look.

He also used the opportunity to unveil the company’s Manifesto for change.

Among the promises made in the Manifesto are: Calls to LIME’s customer service centres will be answered within one minute; No LIME customer will be without the ability to communicate, via at least one of LIME’s services, with their friends, family or colleagues, for more than one day; Customers (and potential customers) will not be sold services or products that they do not need -even if that means LIME loses money on sale; LIME will ensure that every child, in the markets where it operates, will have access to a computer and the Internet to aid their education; LIME will invest $5 million in local community initiatives -such as Carnival -each year; and LIME will commit the time of every colleague -from CEO to cleaner – to aid recovery efforts in times of national crisis.

“Often when we think of a Manifesto we think of politics and election pledges which sometimes may be broken. But a manifesto is simply a declaration of intention,” said Steel, expressing that the Manifesto begins with a commitment.

Steele said LIME was born out of extensive research. He said a consultant firm was used to assist Cable & Wireless in understanding where it should be heading as a company, and to find answers to questions like “Would it make sense as a Caribbean people where we are trying to create a Caribbean company to keep a name that has a negative perception in the Caribbean”.

Richard Dodd, Chief Executive of LIME, in a video broadcast, said over the past few months the company has been working to introduce a programme of activities designed to create a business that serves the people of the Caribbean in a way that they deserve.

Dodd said LIME has implemented a new management structure populated with the best and brightest people the Caribbean has to offer.

He outlined that the business is already very different to that of six months ago. “The business that we are creating really doesn’t have a great deal of resemblance to the Cable & Wireless of old. The slow, indifferent, aloof business is being replaced by an organization built around customers and their needs,” said Dodd.

“This new business is not Cable & Wireless. It’s changing too much for that. Our business needs a new name and a new brand.”

The ceremony was also attended by Vice President Sales and Marketing, Fitz Huggins. Three members of the media were very lucky to have won themselves BlackBerry handsets. (HN)