Digicel To Go After
Costa Rican Market
Digicel Group has set
its sights on Costa
Rica, a market that
telecommunications
watchers say is ripe for
exploration by big
players, following
passage of new
legislation that paves
the way for competition
in mobile services.
Signals Telecom
Consulting, which tracks
regional developments in
the sector, said in a
June paper that Digicel,
America Movil, Millicom
and Telefonica were the
most likely candidates
to go after market share
in Costa Rica, where
spending is expected to
surpass US$5.9 billion
within five years.
"Yes, Digicel is
interested in entering
the Costa Rica market as
part of our overall
expansion across Central
America," said Maureen
Rabbitt, group
spokeswoman for the
mobile company. "We see
strong opportunities for
growth in the Central
American market with
young populations,
strong economies and low
mobile penetration
rates."
America Movil (AMX),
however, says it was not
looking at an immediate
foray into Costa Rica,
whose regional markets
span 18 countries in the
Americas.
"I can tell you that AMX
evaluates periodically
investment opportunities
in the telecomm sector,"
said the company's head
of corporate
communications Patricia
Ramirez.
"Today, there are only a
few countries that are
not included in the
company's operations
footprint in the
Americas, Costa Rica,
one of them. It is
important to understand
that this country,
particularly right now,
cannot be considered as
an option for the
company as it's
regulatory environment
does not permit
private/foreign
investors in
telecommunications."
Rabbitt would not
comment on the specific
plans for Costa Rica,
saying they were at the
early stage.
Digicel, which had its
beginnings in Jamaica,
already has operations
in El Salvador and
licences for Guatemala,
Honduras and Panama.
Digicel has not set a
launch date for the
latter two markets,
saying only it would be
"as early as possible".
The company is already a
powerhouse in the
Caribbean, with 6.54
million live subscriber
accounts in 23 markets -
1.9 million of them in
Jamaica, and about 2.2
million in Haiti -
representing growth of
39 per cent in a year to
March 2008.
"We're very excited
about our ability to
sustain growth
opportunities in
existing markets while
picking up momentum in
new ones, and we've had
one of our most
successful financial
years to date," said
Colm Delves, Digicel
Group CEO, in a company
statement. "We will
continue to put our
customers first by
offering them better
value, world-class
customer care, new
technology, innovations
and attractive offerings
based on the strength of
our network."
|
