Digicel urges gov’t to free up spectrum

-says new services, upgrades delayed as requests pending

The new Digicel tower at Kabakaburi
The new Digicel tower at Kabakaburi

As it announced a rollout of state-of-the-art mobile service in Region Two, Digicel Guyana has called on the government to free up spectrum for the expansion and upgrade of its services.

The mobile company said that requests to the government have been pending since November and new services and upgrades have been delayed.

In a statement, Chief Executive Officer, Gregory Dean said: “The Government has been transformational in delivering liberalisation. Now, to be able to bring further benefits to the people of Guyana, we need confirmation from the Government that the spectrum we use to deliver these and future services, will be made available. Our requests have been pending since November and this has led to new services and upgrades being delayed. We are keen to immediately invest in Guyana and ensure our customers access world class services.”

Digicel Guyana said that it has switched on its state-of-the-art mobile service in the Kabakaburi Mission Region Two, completing major service expansion in the Upper Pomeroon river area.

It added that residents in the village’s sub divisions of St. Monica, Siriki, Abrams Creek and Jacklow will now have access to first world connectivity.

Dean underscored Digicel’s contribution to taking connectivity to unserved areas, “We are thrilled to have given thousands of residents in remote communities’ access to world class communication services, during our 14 years of operations in Guyana.” In addition to the new site launch, the telecommunications provider donated over 30 tablets to students of Kabakaburi Primary School, the statement said.

Further, over $4 billion has been invested in rolling out LTE services delivering greater speeds and an overall enhanced user experience, to customers on the coast and inland areas like Linden, Bartica, Mahdia, Kwakwani, Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Aroaima and Matthews Ridge. Puruni’s upgrade, which has been delayed due to poor road accessibility, is set to be completed in August with expected weather improvements.

This would see Digicel’s LTE services being available to an estimated 83% of the population, allowing more customers to now enjoy the full digital lifestyle, the company said.