Digicel – Celebrating 3 Years in SVG

Today March 24 is a day of great celebration for the telecommunications firm Digicel. On this date in 2003, telecommunications services in St. Vincent and the Grenadines took a leap forward when Digicel opened its local office. And today’s observance will have an added impact. As big as its introduction was three years ago, things have continued getting better for Digicel. {{more}} The company is now in the process of integrating their operations with that of Cingular Wireless. That will be a reason for added celebration.

In order to ensure that the transition goes smoothly, Digicel’s customer care services will be open for the entire weekend.

Jerry George, Digicel Public Relations Manager for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and Country Manager Martin Bollers are ecstatic about the anniversary.

Digicel’s entry into the local market was not a completely smooth exercise. They had to overcome some obstacles as regards interconnectivity with another telecommunication provider.

The celebration will coincide with Digicel’s introduction of Q-Point Direct, which offers the consumer “more convenience and greater flexibility.”

And clients can top up with as little as $5.00.

George boasted of his company’s control of 60 per cent of the Mobile Business in the Caribbean.

For George, when Digicel entered the market, it was a reverberation of sorts.

“The impact was so great that in the first two weeks, we literally sold out all that we had anticipated for the first six weeks,” George said.

George recalled the overwhelming response from the public to Digicel’s introduction. He recalled a vegetable vendor staking out Digicel’s office from early the first Saturday morning until she obtained her Digicel mobile telephone.

George also remembered a vendor’s face lighting up when she made contact with her daughter in the Untied States from her position on the street selling.

“She was so excited. I was more pleased than she was. In my mind that was the epitome of what liberalisation of telecommunications really meant, that the common person had access to mobile phone service, and the key to mobile phone service is the ability to make a call from anywhere to anywhere,” George disclosed.

Bollers emphasised the fact that charges are calculated by the second and not by the minute as previously obtained.

Bollers also expressed satisfaction that with Digicel’s entry, access locally increased to 98 per cent of the nation.

Digicel seemed to have preempted the introduction of the Caricom Single Market and Economy. George noted Digicel’s emphasis on the Grenadine market, and even before Digicel entered the Grenada market, clients on the Grenadine Island of Carriacou and Petit Martinique were boasting updated telephone services before they were officially available in Grenada.

“CSME requires a good telecommunication infrastructure,” George stated. “Telecommunications is like the network on which business gets done. With the coming of CSME, our Caribbean people want to know that they can move from country to country without having to worry about the network that they are on,” George outlined.

Bollers also boasted of Digicel’s ability to send pictures and text messages.

“Digicel gave that service for free for one year,” Bollers pointed out.

The introduction of the SIM Card, which guarantees some level of flexibility, is another feature of Digicel’s service.

Bollers is also pleased with Digicel’s enhancement of the communications network.

Another big milestone is how it changed the poor man’s life, according to Bollers.

He noted that many more people were able to access communications in areas hitherto unreachable. Digicel’s expansion in cell Towers rendered communication easier for Vincentians.

Bollers also boasted of Digicel’s fixed GSM Desktop, which he noted was doing well on the market.

Digicel also revolutionised the card market. “Digicel has more or less liberated the authorised agents, with close to 1,000 resellers, as Bollers pointed out. And with Digicel, you speak to a live person,” Bollers stated.

The acquisition of the Cingular outfit will benefit customers overall.