Digicel talking tough in Barbados

(Barbados Nation) The war of words between two of the island’s telecommunications providers is heating up, with Digicel accusing competitor LIME of trying to block its entry into the landline market and declaring that it will not be bullied by the telecoms giant.

Digicel Barbados’ chief executive officer Barry O’Brien has made it clear that his company will not stop challenging LIME on its interconnection rates.

“Digicel will not allow itself to be bullied and browbeaten by LIME. We will engage to the best of our ability with the [Fair Trading Commission] to ensure that the interests of fair competition are protected and that the people of Barbados get the benefits of a truly competitive regime,” he said in a statement on Friday.

The row between the two surrounds Digicel’s efforts to change the terms of the existing interconnection deal with LIME to allow it to add fixed line services to its mobile network in keeping with a full domestic services licence issued by the Government on August 22, 2012.