The booming cellphone market in Jamaica is about to take a serious but interesting turn with the planned merger of Digicel and relative new comer Claro.
Telecom company LIME who has been feeling the competition, already crying foul regarding the possible merger of the two companies.
According to reports, LIME said that given the significance of the merger to the Jamaican telecommunications industry, the Government, the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) and the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) “should carefully assess the deal, before approval is given by the relevant minister”.
“As a company proudly serving Jamaica for over 140 years, providing employment for more than 1,400 Jamaican workers and with almost 25,000 Jamaican shareholders, we stand ready to cooperate with all industry players to ensure the interests of our country and the Jamaican consumer are best served,” said Lime’s managing director, Garry Sinclair.
Earlier this month, Digicel and Claro announced that they would engage in a swapping exercise which would see Digicel selling its businesses in El Salvador and Honduras to America Movil, Claro’s parent company, and Claro selling its Jamaican holdings to Digicel.
This would see Digicel moving out of America Movil territory in Central America, and Claro moving out of Digicel’s prime territory, Jamaica.
LIME feels that the move would see Digicel having a near monopoly in the Jamaican cellphone market.
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