Antigua & Barbuda PM slams Digicel as 'monopoly'

The Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Browne has stepped up pressure on mobile telco Digicel to give up part of its spectrum in the 850MHz band, reports the Daily Observer.

Browne said over the weekend that the government would counter-sue Digicel, which in May secured a high court order preventing the government from confiscating a lot of spectrum in the 850MHz band to reassign it to state-owned operator Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), which the government says is at a competitive disadvantage.

Which action the government could take is not yet clear, and Browne has only issued verbal threats so far.

Browne has called Digicel a "monopoly" and said in June the government told the company it will buy a 51% controlling stake in Digicel’s local operations.

Digicel has denied any conversations around a buyout took place and asserted that the spectrum it holds was awarded fairly.

Browne said Digicel holds most of the spectrum in the 850MHz band and all of the spectrum in the 900MHz band. He added that the government is investing heavily in building up APUA PCS as a competitor and urgently needs spectrum in the lower bands.

Digicel’s lease for the spectrum runs out next year so according to Browne, in the “worst case scenario…we wait until next year to deal with them.”

Digicel is also facing a Haiti-linked court case in New York, where Haitian immigrants in the US have accused the company of "conspiring" in a "fraudulent scheme" to collect fees for the government.