DUBLIN, Ireland, Thursday March 24, 2011 - An investigation in Ireland has found that Digicel owner Denis O'Brien made payments to a former government minister to help him secure a mobile licence 16 years ago that helped him make a fortune and branch off into his lucrative mobile phone operations in the region - a charge he has vehemently denied.

Justice Michael Moriarty, who headed the tribunal, concluded that OBrien paid Ireland's former Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications Michael Lowry significant sums of money and, in exchange, Lowry gave O'Brien, "substantive information (that was) of significant value and assistance" to his Esat Digifone company securing Ireland's second mobile licence ahead of rival bidders, in 1995.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, Thursday February 24, 2011 - Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) is selling its operations in Bermuda to a family-run Canadian cable and telecommunications company in a US$70 million deal.

Once the sale to The Braggs Group gets government and regulatory approvals, it's expected to be finalised by the end of next month, at which time the new owners say they'll keep the same employees and local management.

"In fact, we expect to increase local Bermudian employment in the near future," it said in a statement yesterday.

News of the sale comes two weeks after CWC reported that its Caribbean operations continue to suffer, at the same that it announced it had signed the final agreement to acquire majority control of Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTC).

Effective immediately, the two companies will work together to achieve even greater business success and market share as the region's newest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) powerhouse.

Digicel meanwhile has been offering ICT solutions to businesses across the region since 2007. The company's promise of best network, best value and best service has seen Caribbean companies not only benefiting from greater efficiencies through more integrated communications, but also being able to reduce their ICT spend by between 30% and 40% on average.

President and CEO of Netxar, Frank Santiago, comments; "For years, corporate and public sector customers have been searching for a business partner who can deliver both world class telecommunication services and ICT solutions. Now, customers will benefit from technology solutions that leverage their IT framework as a competitive advantage while reducing operational costs and increasing productivity.

He continues; "The support and involvement of Digicel which, in ten short years, has had such a positive impact on the Caribbean communications space will see us delivering even better solutions to an even broader range of corporate customers."

Kevin White, COO of Digicel Group, comments; "Since we started focusing on delivering ICT solutions to Caribbean corporate customers in 2007, we have made big inroads and are proud to serve the Caribbean's biggest business names. In Jamaica for instance, Digicel serves over 70% of the corporate market.

He adds; "This will see us increasing our ICT presence across the Caribbean and Central America and offering customers a broader and deeper product portfolio backed by Digicel's award-winning customer service. Our customers are set to benefit from being with the region's newest ICT powerhouse."

LONDON, United Kingdom, Thursday February 10, 2011 - Telecommunications giant Cable & Wireless says its Caribbean operations continue to suffer amid adverse economic conditions and earnings won't increase in the second half of the financial year.

In a third quarter statement issued yesterday, Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) said it expected earnings by the end of the fiscal year in March to remain flat at around US$115 million.

"The one region that remains very difficult is the Caribbean where we see the market continue to be challenging with tourist spend and, hence, consumer and business disposable income significantly below historic levels," said CWC Chief Executive Officer Tony Rice.

Public hearings this week on the three islands over Choice Communications' petition to be eligible for federal Universal Service Funds were short--with no one speaking against the request--boding well for Choice's move toward providing cell phone service later this year.

The V.I. Public Services Commission held hearings on St. Thomas and St. John Tuesday and St. Croix on Wednesday, requesting public input on a formal request from Choice to collect federal Universal Service Fund (USF) grants as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC).

The USF is a Federal Communications Commission-controlled program designed to bring better telecommunications services to rural and insular areas. Funds must be spent on improving telecommunications service in the territory. The FCC makes the final determination but usually defers to the local regulatory recommendation, in this case, that of the PSC.

CHTA Strategic Partners are leading organizations and companies involved in a wide range of industry sectors and activities for the betterment of the Caribbean.

"Roaming charges for our visitors can be an expensive experience when in the Caribbean and our new Strategic Partnership with Forum Telecom will provide CHTA members with the ability to offer cost efficient alternatives for their clients' on-island cellular phone usage. The company is a valuable addition to our Strategic Partner lineup," said Enrique De Marchena Kaluche, President of CHTA.

"Forum Telecom understands the travel and hospitality industry and offers a unique product for participating members," noted De Marchena. The addition of Forum Telecom as a CHTA Strategic Partner will provide hotels and other tourism-related members with a new product they can offer to save their clients money on cellular phone calls - free use of a mobile phone courtesy of the venue, with rates of only US$0.49 per minute and US$0.25 for text messages to anywhere in the world - a savings of up to 80% versus the use of their home market handsets. And travelers only pay for the minutes they use - no rental fee, no roaming charges, no minimums and no ancillary charges typical of the major carriers.

This new Strategic Partner agreement will help CHTA hotel members enhance their guest amenities as the convenience factor is a major benefit for travelers. The phone can even include one touch dialing numbers for guest activities, room service, spa appointments, restaurant reservations and local activities. In addition to significant year-round recognition and exposure alongside CHTA, benefits of the Strategic Partnership also include sponsorships of various CHTA conferences and events.

"We are very excited to become a Strategic Partner of CHTA as the Caribbean hotel sector is the primary focus of our marketing efforts. This new relationship will open a variety of distribution channels for us," said Russell A. Brown, Vice President Sales and Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer, Forum Telecom, Inc.

Forum Telecom joins ARDA, Eventstar, Caribbean Travel & Life, FirstCaribbean International Bank, Fosters Group, Green Globe Certification, Interval International, MasterCard, Tropical Shipping and Utell Hotels & Resorts as CHTA Strategic Partners.

By Sean Buckley

Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), the service provider that runs the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network (BDSNi) submarine cable system linking to Haiti, reported that service has been disrupted as a result of the earthquake that struck the Port-au-Prince area.

In an interview with Telegeography, Alveta Moss, a representative of BTC, said: "We are currently remotely assessing the extent of the damage, pending contact with our partners in Haiti. Until we are able to thoroughly assess the damage, I am unable at this time to indicate how long repairs will take or when service will be restored."

Jointly controlled by Haitian wireline service provider Teleco and BTC, the 1.92 Tbps-capable BDSNi cable network that connects Port-au-Prince to Matthew Town in the Bahamas and into the U.S., is currently used by Teleco in conjunction with INTELSAT satellite network connections. But since the BDSNi is relatively new (it was lit in December 2006) and Haiti depends on satellite networks for the majority of its communications links, it is unknown how much traffic actually goes over the submarine network.

At the same time, it appears that many of Haiti's ISPs are still up and running, but there have been unconfirmed reports that the country's two largest--Hainet and Access Haiti-were down.

Join us next month in St Maarten for Capacity Caribbean 2010, the C-level meeting for the Caribbean wholesale telecoms market. Capacity Caribbean 2010 takes place on 9 & 10 February 2010 and will attract over 200 delegates representing 70+ regional and international telecom companies.

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