Business
LIME Jamaica: We are not shutting down operations
“At this point, Jamaica’s telecoms industry is at a critical juncture as we stand on the verge of seeing meaningful change in the regulatory framework. These changes are necessary to restore competitiveness in the industry, which will bring real value and benefits for Jamaican consumers,” he added, stressing that LIME has been advocating for these regulatory changes for the past six years.
Digicel last year acquired Claro’s Jamaican operations, a deal which allowed the firm to solidify its place atop the local mobile telecommunications sector where it already claims in excess of two million subscribers among the Jamaican population of 2.8 million.
News broke last week that Digicel was granted permission to shut down the Claro network less than four months after agreeing to keep it going under the terms of their merger.
Permission for the network to be switched off was granted by the outgoing Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) government before December 8, as the general election campaign was kicking off.
An incensed LIME accused former Prime Minister Andrew Holness of betraying Jamaican consumers when he reversed the requirement that Digicel maintain both networks as a condition of its proposed merger with Claro. At the same time, the firm urged the Government to implement an emergency overhaul of the regulations governing the telecoms industry in order to protect consumers and other service providers.
LIME Jamaica reported losses of JMD$6 billion (US$70 million) after taxes in its last financial year.
