Dominican Republic's Codetel deploys Ceragon FibeAir 3200T

From Developing Telecoms.com:

News, Codetel, Wireless Trunking, Dominican Republic: Caribbean telecoms operators have enjoyed many successes in recent years, with the Dominican Republic boasting five million mobiles within a population of ten million. To support network expansion and coverage, local fixed/wireless operator Codetel has deployed Ceragon's FibeAir 3200T all-indoor wireless trunk solution.

The Dominican Republic is an advanced telecoms market, boasting more than five million mobile subscribers within a population of about ten million. An island-wide microwave radio relay network and fibre-optic lines cover many of the main cities and deliver services such as DSL, fixed and mobile telephony.

Codetel is the largest of five telecommunication service providers operating in the Dominican Republic and a subsidiary of America Movil. In early 2008 it began deploying Ceragon's FibeAir 3200T all-indoor wireless trunk solution to support its telecom network expansion and coverage. Codetel provides local, long-distance and wireless voice services together with advanced data services to approximately one million customers.

Cable & Wireless closing call centers

From Nation News:

"THE HEAD office for Cable & Wireless' new model structure One Caribbean, will be in Barbados.

Chairman of C&W Caribbean Phil Green, told the SUNDAY SUN the commitment to Barbados was "very, very strong" since it had always been a major player for the company.

Barbados has the largest data centre in the Caribbean and is currently the home of 11 of C&W's 13 units.

The company announced on Friday that the local contact centre would be closing, putting 115 workers on the breadline."

Caribbean 3G Services Revenues will Surpass the US$ 3.5 Billion Mark by 2013

Caribbean 3G Services Revenues will Surpass the US$ 3.5 Billion Mark by 2013; Puerto Rico is the Most Advanced Market; Digicel May Struggle with its 3G Strategy.

The deployment of UMTS/HSPA networks by operators like Setar, Viva and Claro, as well as the upcoming roll out by Cable & Wireless, will drive the presence of 3G services offerings in the Caribbean. Wireless broadband will be its primary growth engine. A possible reduction in handset costs, together with the implementation of single price 3G rate plans will invigorate the development of related Value Added Services (VAS) offerings. 3G revenue growth will generate a CAGR of 98.9% during the 2008-2013 period.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - October 14, 2008 - Signals Telecom Consulting, the leading Latin American and Caribbean telecommunication markets consulting and research firm, announces the publication of its "Analysis of 3G Strategies in the Caribbean" report. In this study, Signals takes an in-depth look at the 3G mobile services offering in the region, including the commercial offerings and / or strategies used for next generation wireless networks.

This study highlights the fact that the current crisis in global financial markets, the high levels of mobile tele-density and the limited number of inhabitants living in the majority of the Caribbean markets will force regional operators to seek out new revenue sources. Within this new competitive dynamic, broadband and value added service offerings will become a priority for operators in various Caribbean marketplaces. "Puerto Rico is without a doubt the most sophisticated 3G market in the region. Currently, there are four operators having commercial 3G offerings in this market with a fifth, T-Mobile, launching 3G services within 12 - 18 months. Nevertheless, it will b e Cable & Wireless upcoming deployments of UMTS/HSPA that will expand this technology across the region. Signals believes that Digicel's decision to roll out WiMAX for its nomadic wireless broadband offering in the Cayman Islands will be difficult to repeat in other Caribbean markets. This is because, as compared to UMTS/HSPA or CDMA2000 EV-DO, WiMax lacks both economies of scale and a broad range of handsets. Moreover, as in Latin America, the Caribbean is a handsets market," says Jose F. Otero, President of Signals Telecom Consulting and report author.

"Because the 3G service offerings deployed using UMTS/HSPA technology are largely based on wireless broadband access and oriented to the corporate and high disposable income segments, they have initially emulated the behavior of EV-DO networks. This implies measured growth via users already having fixed broadband access who use 3G as a mobile access alternative. Here, the main reason for marketing this service is the value users place on mobility. Due to the impending drop in the number of European and American tourists visiting the region, however, many operators that have deployed 3G services via CDMA2000 EV-DO will begin to contemplate using the same for offering local services. Thus, said operators will not longer v iew these networks just as means of generating international roaming revenues. This is what newcomer TSTT has done in Trinidad & Tobago," explains Otero.

In this type of environment, 3G services will only begin to experience significant levels of growth in the Caribbean as from 2010. This will be "the result of broader geographical coverage, an increase in the number of operators that will have completed commercial UMTS/HSPA launches and an improved handset offering. All of this will allow operators to reduce user service acquisition costs as well as add on more robust voice and VAS type offerings oriented to personalization contents," concludes Otero.