Startups expecting concessions July 31

The three operators that received assurances of obtaining mobile concessions in Barbados expect to get their licenses by July 31, but are concerned there may be delays, according to a report from Trinidadian paper The Guardian. Although licenses are supposedly in order since mid-March for AT&T Wireless, Jamaica-based Digicel and local outfit Sunbeach Communications, the three aspiring entrants have so far received only letters of intent from the government, meaning they cannot yet proceed to deploy their networks. By contrast AT&T and Digicel have already launched services in other liberalizing Caribbean markets, including St Lucia and St Vincent. Independent consultant Jose Otero told BNamericas Digicel expects to take the market lead in both islands. The government's position is that it is "not ready to disclose anything now," according to chief telecommunications officer Chelston Bourne. A delay would work to the benefit of the incumbent operator, Cable & Wireless West Indies (C&WWI). "C&W would probably like to keep the Christmas season for themselves but we are going to try to be there for Christmas," the paper quoted AT&T Wireless director of sales and marketing Alec Hill as saying. However, Otero said C&W will be at a disadvantage when the new operators launch because of the negative connotation associated with the C&W brand in Barbados as well as other parts of the Caribbean, where the UK-based telco has held monopoly status for nearly a century. He noted Sunbeach has already signed up 7,000 presubscriptions, on an attractive promotion where it is offering free handsets for postpaid subscriptions. Meanwhile, Digicel will replicate its aggressive market share focused strategy that earned it 600,000 subscribers and the market lead in Jamaica. Digicel plans to invest 100mn Barbadian dollars (US$50mn) toward launching a GSM network for the island despite the fact that Barbados has only 277,000 residents, Otero said. The per capita income approaches US$15,000, but even so the economic argument for such an investment is difficult to make, he said. AT&T Wireless is approaching Barbados and other islands with a different vision of expanding its North American presence. Otero said AT&T will be less of a threat to C&W than the other two operators as it will be aiming regionally and so targeting high end and business consumers without focusing on the mass market. Startup operators are worried a delay will be prolonged even after they get their licenses because the government will not have a proper dispute settlement system in place for interconnection negotiations. "One of our serious concerns is that until the licenses are issued, C&W will not begin any discussions around interconnection which is a critical aspect of us being able to get our operations launched," said Stephanie Bariault, VP and general manager for AT&T Wireless Caribbean Services C&W can be expected to drive a hard bargain, because interconnection will become an important revenue channel after it loses control of the mobile market. According to Otero, the ex-monopoly is aiming to make up lost mobile revenues with new interconnection revenues. In other jurisdictions such as Dominica and St Lucia, where deregulation is already a reality, there have been disputes regarding interconnection with C&W. C&W reported 66,000 Barbadian mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter, giving the country an approximately 24% mobile penetration rate at the brink of liberalization. Otero is the author of "Mobile Opportunities in the Caribbean" by the UK-based telecoms research institute Baskerville.