Digicel reports growth in data and 4G subscribers

Digicel Jamaica is reporting double-digit growth in data revenues and data-plan subscribers over the last quarter ending December 2013.

The growth, according to Digicel CEO Barry O'Brien, is due to effective strategies over the past year to deliver value, choice and innovation to all its customers across Jamaica.

Speaking about the gains made in data, the telecommunications company reported a 40 per cent increase in data penetration, which it said was broadly facilitated by a focused strategy designed to ensure that more people across Jamaica have access to affordable smartphones and data plans.

"More and more customers are realising that when they purchase a data plan, they manage their data spend better and their overall data experience," O'Brien said.

Following the introduction of its own line of smartphones in the market over the past year, the company said it has seen a positive uptake from customers who want access to the Internet on more affordable mobile devices.

The company is also reporting an increase of an additional 200,000 subscribers to its 4G mobile network, which it said is broadly due to continuous investment.

"We recognise that there is a growing appetite for access to the Internet and access to data, and we are happy to be facilitating this demand. As such, Digicel is in the process of rolling out an additional 170 4G mobile sites across the island, which will see us increasing our 4G network coverage from 80 per cent to 92 per cent population coverage.