Denis O'Brien's Caribbean mobile phone company Digicel has become the first company to be awarded a license to operate a GSM network in Haiti.
The company described the contract as a milestone, and said it came about as a result of a tender process entered jointly with onefone, a subsidiary of Haitian GB Group.
With the addition of operations in Haiti, Digicel will now operate in nine countries with a total population of over 12 million people. As well as Haiti, Digicel operates in Aruba, Barbados, The Cayman Islands, Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia.
Haiti currently has three operators in the market that offer mobile and fixed line networks to about 400,000 subscribers.
'This win will enable Digicel to make an important contribution to the growth and development of Haiti economically and socially,' commented Digicel's Chairman Denis O'Brien.
'It will result in significant job creation and Digicel fully intends to become involved in a range of sponsorships, and social and community initiatives,' he added.
