Business
Digicel defends merger with Claro: – says that it will benefit Jamaica
(Jamaica Observer) – Digicel Jamaica says its acquisition of Claro in Jamaica will spur innovation and investment that will benefit consumers islandwide.
The company in a press release yesterday announced a number of initiatives it said is aimed at ensuring that Jamaicans benefit from technology innovation and that access to these technologies becomes more widespread. The announcement comes after the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a lawsuit against the merger of Digicel and Claro. The FTC has indicated that the same merger would likely hurt mobile phone customers with higher prices and a slowdown in technological advancements.
According to Digicel, the initiatives will see Jamaica benefiting from “super-fast” mobile technology through the introduction of island-wide 4G Mobile, lower cross-network calling rates and an intent to bring complimentary wireless access to primary and secondary schools and post offices in remote locations.
As a result of the acquisition, Digicel said it will be investing a further US$30 million in the rollout of its 4G Mobile services, in addition to its existing investment of over US$1 billion in Jamaica.
“Based on HSPA+, 4G Mobile from Digicel is the next step in high speed mobile Internet with speeds of up to five times faster than the standard legacy 3G technology,” said Digicel in the release.
The company stated that it will deliver islandwide coverage to over 80 percent of the population and will enable customers to enjoy a better experience through faster access to files, the Internet and social media.
What’s more, Digicel said it has also reduced its cross-network rates, “… meaning that, effective 4th January for prepaid and 12th January for postpaid, customers will benefit from a JA$3.50 (US$0.04) per minute peak rate reduction and a JA$2 (US$0.02) per minute off-peak rate reduction on calls to the other network.”
Digicel Jamaica CEO Mark Linehan commented: “Our investment in and rollout of 4G Mobile will see us once again leading innovation and spurring economic growth in Jamaica by putting the very latest and greatest technology in the hands of consumers. The islandwide availability of 4G Mobile will see Jamaica benefiting from the best of the best courtesy of Digicel. Our 4G Mobile service will deliver speeds of up to five times faster than legacy 3G services and will be complemented by our commitment to best value and best service. 4G Mobile opens up a world of possibilities for our customers.
“In addition, our reduction in cross-network rates for both prepaid and postpaid customers and our intent to bring complementary wireless broadband services to schools and post offices in remote areas of Jamaica underline our commitment to ensuring that everything we do has a positive impact on our customers and on Jamaica in general,” he continued.
Digicel also announced that it has offered an Enhanced Separation Programme to Claro employees.
“Our Enhanced Separation Programme is significantly more generous than what is legally required providing all employees with an extra four weeks of pay above what is required and continuing healthcare, lunch allowances and phone credit benefits for a period of three months. In addition, we will be providing outplacement services and encouraging Claro employees to apply for any vacant positions we currently have in Digicel. While the services of some Claro employees will be retained for the next several months, and others will likely secure permanent positions with Digicel — in the interest of fairness, we have made the decision to offer the enhanced separation package to all Claro employees,” said Linehan, adding, “We are very excited about 2012 and the further benefits we will bring to our customers on foot of the considerable investments we are making in the future of telecommunications in Jamaica.”