KINGSTON, Jamaica – Digicel Group, a mobile telecommunications company in the Caribbean and new entrant into the Central American market, introduced a new brand promise: “The Bigger, Better Network.”
The brand tagline marks a defining moment for Digicel, reinforcing the company’s ability to rapidly build state-of-the-art wireless networks, dramatically lower mobile prices and provide customers superior world-class network coverage across all 23 markets.
The tagline also signifies Digicel’s first-class networks with close to 100% population coverage and unparalleled ability to introduce exciting, new technology innovations to communities that never before had mobile service.
Since Digicel initially launched in Jamaica in 2001, the company has experienced tremendous growth to date, significantly increasing mobile penetration rates and network population coverage across the Caribbean. In Jamaica, mobile penetration has climbed from 10% in 2001 to now more than 80 percent.
Digicel has played a pivotal role in mobile pricing and penetration rates in both Haiti and El Salvador. Since launching in May 2006, prices have dropped dramatically in Haiti with a 20 percent decrease in local and fixed calls. In this same period, mobile penetration rates have risen from three percent to 35 percent. Digicel built Haiti’s GSM network in just six months. In El Salvador, Digicel also increased its population coverage by 20 percent in just six months, achieving 95 percent coverage to reach communities previously underserved by competitors.
In addition to increasing mobile penetration in Haiti and El Salvador, Digicel has also impacted mobile penetration in Trinidad and Tobago.
According to a recent study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Trinidad and Tobago is listed as one of the countries benefiting from access to mobile telecommunications. Following the introduction of mobile competition in this market, UNCTAD cited a significant increase in mobile penetration rising from 27 percent in 2002 to 124 percent in 2006.
“Digicel’s new tagline, ‘The Bigger, Better Network,’ is a clear description of the quality and coverage of our networks and reaffirms our ability to introduce exciting, new first-to-market technology innovations such as GPRS and WiMAX wireless broadband,” said Brian Finn, Commercial Director, Digicel Group. “We remain passionate about our promise to provide the best mobile phone service to all of our customers.”
According to Finn, the tagline also reflects Digicel’s state-of-the-art infrastructure investments and solid partnerships with world leaders in GSM technology, GPRS, CDMA and Wireless Broadband. Digicel has rapidly built GSM networks that enable important technology advances as well as reliable, superior coverage. The company was the first GSM operator in the Caribbean to simultaneously offer CDMA roaming.
In 2007, Digicel recorded more than six million customers and a total investment exceeding US $1.9 billion in addition to launching new business operations in Suriname, Guyana and El Salvador. Digicel was also awarded a mobile license to operate a GSM network in the British Virgin Islands.
