LIME awarded AWS spectrum in Jamaica

Cable & Wireless Communications' (CWC) Jamaican subsidiary LIME looks set to deploy 4G LTE services on the island after being awarded an AWS spectrum concession.

The government will obtain US$23.1mn from the sale of the license, local paper Jamaica Gleaner reported.

LIME obtained parts of the 1,710-2,200MHz band, which will allow the provider to roll out LTE and HPSA networks.

The government is due to receive US$11.5mn of the total sale price this year, the paper added.

CWC will be able to compete in the data services market with Digicel, which launched a network in 2012 and has been the only provider of high-speed broadband in Jamaica since then.

Digicel controls the majority of the local market, 77% as of September 2014, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

CWC is changing the shape of the Caribbean telecom market – its acquisition of Columbus International was approved in March. The new company will merge CWC's fixed and mobile communications offerings with Columbus' residential cable TV and broadband services, bringing triple play to the region.

The two companies will also merge their markets in the Caribbean and Central America, as well as expanding into South America. CWC is expected to reach 50 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, overtaking Digicel, present in 26 countries in the Caribbean and 32 worldwide.

Digicel had opposed the transaction from the outset, calling for regulatory probes.

CWC drew up synergy plans as early as a month after it announced the merger. The new company is expected to invest around US$400mn in expanding its fiber broadband to 50,000km.

CWC CEO Phil Bentley said in a statement at the end of 2014 that the new company would be capable of providing 1Gb/s broadband speeds and would create 500 new jobs in Latin America in the next five years.