TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY Digicel is bulking up on infrastructure and key employees as it fights for more market share in Barbados.
Last week at its Colonnade Mall store in The City, Digicel officially launched Digicel Play, its new initiative centred on high speed broadband, television and fixed line services.
Officials said not only had the company invested more than $100 million in a fibre network, but hired “well over 100 local employees in sales, engineering, marketing and finance”.
Digicel Barbados chief executive officer (CEO) Conor Looney said: “Our customers want to live in a super connected world and that’s why our all-fibre network will enable them to do that. It’s fibre to the home all the way from our own terminals, so it literally is a true, reliable, robust fibre network.
“And we are already adding to a very large workforce that we have here in Barbados. We actually have hired over a hundred new local staff to support this new investment. So it’s not just investing in infrastructure, it’s investing in the country with the investment in the people.
“Digicel Play is also excellent news for the ICT outlook and shows that as a country we remain on the cusp of global technology advancements.”
Digicel Play CEO Charlie Clementson said the investment was “significant” with the fibre network covering more than 1 000 kilometres.
“It’s a network that links into other networks, it’s not just about the network on the island. It’s international bandwidth, it’s all of the investment and, of course, a huge investment in people to build this network.
“We have employed splicers, we have got over 30 teams out there, 70 people installing, investment in trucks, investment in a huge amount of sales staff, over 50 sales staff, [and] a 24/7 customer care centre supporting it,” he said.
Digicel said its network now covered 75 per cent of homes, with several distribution points around the island. (SC)
