Digicel last Tuesday signed an interconnect agreement with Telesur following several months of negotiations that started in April, after the company was awarded an operator’s licence by the Government of Suriname, said a Digicel press release.

“The people of Suriname have today moved a significant step forward in receiving the first class mobile service that they deserve,” said Philip van Dalsen, Chief Executive Office of Digicel Suriname.

“We are delighted to at last sign this interconnect agreement with Telesur and applaud the commitment of TAS who fully supervised the discussion during the past week,” said van Dalsen.

The release said that the negotiations were tough, but successful and both parties have agreed that Digicel Suriname will order and deliver the necessary equipment needed to prepare the Telesur network to establish interconnect.

“Because of our good relationship with our suppliers, we are confident that the equipment will arrive in Suriname within a few days so people don’t have to wait any longer,” added Philip van Dalsen.

With the interconnect agreement in place, the release said, Digicel’s launch in Suriname is imminent.

The next step is to physically connect the Digicel and Telesur mobile networks with each other after which a testing period will start.

The testing of all equipment, needed to establish this technical interconnection, will take approximately 10 days. This testing will ensure that calls connect properly from one network to another, as well as checking call quality and the quantity of calls each network can handle at one time. Interconnection allows customers to access services and individuals on the competitor’s networks and vice versa.

For example landline networks need to be interconnected with mobile networks so that customers on either network can talk to each other.

“Our staff and dealers are very excited that we have achieved this milestone,” added Philip van Dalsen. “I’m proud to say that Digicel has the most experienced customer care staff in the country ready to serve and the most impressive retail stores ready to open their doors