Posts Tagged Digicel Jamaica
Digicel unveils $100m Coronation market renovation
Posted by ShopinJA in Breaking News on June 16th, 2010
Market gutted by fire last month
DIGICEL has announced that work will begin next week on its $100 million renovation project for Coronation Market in downtown Kingston.
The market, which had fallen into disrepair, was partly destroyed by a recent fire. The project also coincides with Digicel’s decision to build its new headquarters nearby on the waterfront downtown.
A woman stands outside of the burned-out Coronation Market in downtown Kingston, last month. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Despite the recent disturbance downtown that left 73 civilians and one soldier dead, the Irish telecommunications company says that it remains committed to the rejuvenation of Downtown.
“Coronation Market is the focal point of trade in the downtown area. We announced our intention to refurbish the market in April – and with the events of recent weeks, this project takes on even more urgency. We can’t wait to get moving,” said Colm Delves, Group Chief Executive Officer of Digicel.
The plans were submitted and approved at a meeting with the Mayor of Kingston, the City Engineer and the technical officers of the KSAC.
Work is scheduled to be completed in the next three to six months.
LIME hits Digicel with $100-m lawsuit
Posted by ShopinJA in Breaking News on October 28th, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
LIME filed a $100-million lawsuit against Digicel on Monday, claiming that the Irish-owned telecom unfairly priced its landline-to-mobile rates by as much as $2.48 per minute below the rate it charges LIME to terminate its landline calls.
But the amount now being sought by the British-owned telecom is dwarfed by the $3.9-billion lawsuit it brought against Digicel earlier this year - a case which is scheduled to be heard on Friday - only days after the current action was filed.
LIME Jamaica's country manager, Geoff Houston makes a point at a press conference held yesterday at his company's head office. Listening in is Camille Facey, regional vice-president, legal regulatory and corporate affairs.
In that suit, LIME is claiming for the difference between payments per minute versus per second in respect of Fixed-to-Mobile (FTM) Interconnect Traffic. By LIME’s account, Digicel unilaterally changed the payment regime in 2003 in breach of the interconnection agreement.
Up to yesterday, the Business Observer was unable to get more details of the case to be heard on Friday, except that in the case, which will be heard in court chambers by Justice M McDonald-Bishop and clerk S Rainford, one party will argue for a stay of proceedings.
MoBay mayor puts Digicel on hold
Posted by ShopinJA in Mobile Tech on October 12th, 2009
St. James PC defers telecommunication giant’s application to build cell tower in West Green
BY MARK CUMMINGS Observer West senior reporter cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com
MONTEGO BAY, St James - The St James Parish Council’s Physical Planning Committee has deferred Digicel’s application for permission to erect a 45-metre cellular tower in the middle-class community of West Green.
“The application went to the meeting (physical planning) last week and it was deferred to next month’s meeting because of some outstanding matters,” Charles Sinclair, the council’s chairman told the Observer West on Tuesday.
“… as such no approval has been given for Digicel’s application,” added Sinclair, who is also mayor of Montego Bay.
The telecommunications company hopes to construct the tower later this year, but it needs the approval of several state entities including the St James Parish Council and the National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) as a pre-requsite.
Last month Digicel, which had already received the nod of approval for the construction of the site from NEPA, called a meeting - in keeping with the parish council’s approval process-with members of the West Green Citizens Association to outline its plans.
However at that stormy meeting, which took place on September 6 at the Cannon Muffler Centre in the community, some 100 residents made it clear that they did not want the tower in their community for health reasons.
Subsequently, two weeks ago the association, through its president, Vilma Clarke, delivered a petition signed by some 270 community members to the Parish Council’s Secretary Manager, Winston Palmer as well as NEPA.
The petition, which was accompanied by a cover letter as well as a list of the first 76 residents who attended the September 6, meeting, urged the local authority not to approve Digicel’s application.
“We did not get to collect the signatures of everyone who came to the meeting because some came in late and the focus had changed.. there were no microphones, and people were complaining at times that they could not hear what the people from Digicel were saying,” Clarke told the Observer West.
On Tuesday, Sinclair told the Observer West that the physical planning committee has since written to NEPA advising the agency of the community’s stance against the construction of the tower.
Sinclair added that the committee is also awaiting the minutes of last month’s meeting between Digicel and the West Green Citizens Association.
But Clarke told the Observer West that her association was not able to take minutes at the meeting as it was plagued by audio problems.
“We couldn’t hear what was being said and there wasn’t much to record given the shouting. In any case nobody has asked me for any minutes and it wasn’t our meeting, we were called by Digicel so we did not come with equipment to take that sort of record,” she said.
In the meantime the communication process seems to have gone awry as Clarke has received a letter from Digicel referring to the community’s desire to have sidewalks repaired as part of the condition for allowing the tower in.
4-G WiMax Comes to Jamaica
Posted by ShopinJA in Mobile Tech on September 9th, 2009
Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves on the addition of 4-G WiMax.
