Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer

Aarons

A disagreement between telecoms firms, Digicel and Claro, over the sharing of cell sites has ended, Digicel has said.

Up to August, the two companies were embroiled in a blame game over the breakdown of a co-location agreement that allowed cell companies to share cell sites.

The agreement is aimed at limiting land space to erect the number of cell towers needed to blanket the island with signals and also ease public concern on the impact the towers might have on health and the environment.

Digicel has more than 1,000 cell towers across the island. Their competitors, Claro, wanted to establish towers on 600 of those sites.

"It's a situation no more," said Patria-Kaye Aarons, Digicel's public relations manager. "It was an arrangement that Claro didn't use yet. They had sites from which to choose and they hadn't chosen yet," she added.

The Gleaner did not get a comment from Claro despite several attempts since last week. In August, before its name changed from MiPhone, Colin Webster, the company's chief operating officer, said the relationship between the companies had broken down since last year.

However, the conflict was ironed out in subsequent meetings between the companies' officials, The Gleaner has learnt.

"We are sharing the towers and the relationship is great," Aarons said.

Responding to the fierce competition between the two companies, Minister of Mining and Telecommunication, Derrick Smith, who has been involved in the discussions, said Jamaica represents a potential launching pad for the Caribbean Community.

Attractive market

"This market is, therefore, very attractive to telecoms investors," said Smith.

He argued that Digicel's success in the region was primarily driven by its success in Jamaica, where it has more than two million subscribers. Smith stressed that the Jamaican model has been replicated by Digicel in its other locations throughout the world.

"Based on the above, Claro recognises the value of the Jamaican market. If it is able to gain a strong foothold in Jamaica, it can use this to establish itself in the region," the minister said.

He concluded that the Jamaican environment is attractive for the entry of an entity with strong financial backing, such as Claro. Tense competition, it is expected, will drive down cellphone rates.

gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com