Glass prepares to offer fixed lines to customers

Chief Executive Officer, of Karib Cable Kelly Glass said, “Karib Cable is entering its 9th year and expects this to be a year that the people of St. Vincent will remember as much if not more than the launch of Karib Cable in August 1997.

2007 will see the true completion of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. Southern Caribbean Fibre (SCF), of which Kelly Glass is a founding member and shareholder will land its underwater cable on the shores of St. Vincent and create a critical hub in the southern Caribbean in that Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia will all be connected to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. {{more}} The inauguration of the SCF Fibre will take place in Guadeloupe next month. This new cable will offer terrobits of bandwidth and is expected to significantly reduce the cost at which companies acquire essential bandwidth to facilitate efficient operation of their businesses.

Karib Cable will be the first customer to be connected to SCF’s cable and will use sister company Kelectric to land the cable. Kelectric is currently engaged in all landing preparation work and Environmental Impact Assessment studies in Dominica and St. Lucia and is contracted to conduct this work throughout the English speaking Caribbean.

As the first customer of SCF, Karib Cable will be presented with an opportunity from the realistic bandwidth prices forecast. Consequently, Karib Cable’s customers will see real competition in the data and fixed line telephony market. Karib Cable was issued a license to operate in this market a number of years ago, but has not commenced significant trading in this market due to the single greatest barrier, being high bandwidth costs and outgoing calls through the incumbent provider.

Glass, who received an Entrepreneur award for services to the OECS and Barbados in 1998, said, “I would like to congratulate the Government and Minister of Telecommunications for closing the loop on liberalization and for supporting small local businesses by affording them the opportunity to grow and compete in the region with incentives and support comparable with those of the French and European Islands which have benefited from large financial and legislative support from their respective Governments and the European Union.”

According to Glass: “2007 will be a year which the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will remember specifically as it relates to Cable television, internet and fixed line telephony.”