Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

America Movil, the new parent company for Oceanic Digital Jamaica or MiPhone, has recruited a Chinese technology company, Huawei Technologies to ramp up the local company's cell site and distribution networks.

The Financial Gleaner has learned that Huawei only four months ago established an office in Jamaica under the name Huawei Technologies Jamaica Limited to oversee the building out of some 800 cell sites across the island for MiPhone.

Sources say Carlos Slim's America Movil is taking serious aim at a much bigger slice of the Jamaican market as it expands its footprint throughout the Caribbean.

Its biggest rival is Denis O'Brien's Digicel Group, which has a lock on some 1.8 million subscribers in Jamaica and more than six million across the region.

The local telecoms do not comment on market share but reports on technology websites have suggested that the split is 4.0 per cent Miphone, 26 per cent Cable and Wireless and 70 per cent Digicel. Others suggest that Digicel has more than an 80 per cent lock on the market.

But whatever the share, MiPhone lags its rivals and America Movil intends to close the gap, the Financial Gleaner was advised.

Stronger network

The company, it is understood, has about 150 of its staff deployed in Jamaica, some of whom are negotiating deals with several entities to build out a much stronger network of dealers.

America Movil is also said to have acquired some 60 million phones, though it was unclear how many markets the handsets were intended for.

Huawei said it has the contract for the first two phases of the expansion and has approximately 100 members of staff in the island for the job.

MiPhone officials when contacted were reluctant to comment on the activities, and size of the investments, saying they prefer to make a future announcement.

An official at the local Chinese company when contacted by the Financial Gleaner also said he could not give out any information on the developments but said the sites being prepared were less than 800.

He added, however, that the numbers were not finalised.

The Financial Gleaner has learned otherwise that some 200 communication sites making up the first phase of the expansions are just about completed.

Although the size of the investment being made by America Movil is not known it's likely to amount to billions of dollars.

J$10 billion cost

Cable & Wireless Jamaica for example is erecting some 120 sites this year at a cost of J$2.8 billion. MiPhone's 600-800 sites would, on that measure, easily top J$10 billion.

"America Movil came into Jamaica to do business and that's what we are doing," commented MiPhone's spokesperson Helen Allison-Minott when asked about the expansion.

America Movil acquired MiPhone in August 2007 at a speculated cost of US$70 million.

A highly placed sourced told the Financial Gleaner that Huawei Technologies which is locating the sites and providing the telecommunication equipment or branding has in turn subcontracted the project to build the sites, do sites adoption, install the telecommunication equipment and do the integration to Calatel Solutions, the Jamaican subsidiary of the international supplier of telecommunications technology, Calatel.

Meantime Digicel Jamaica, which has about 1,000 cell sites across the island, is said to be keeping close watch on developments.

The company's Jamaican subscriber base continues to expand but at a much slower pace than before, suggesting its market was about to peak.

But CEO David Hall was almost nonchalant when asked how he was gearing up for pending competition.

"Simple," he said. "By continuing to offer the best service, value and quality."

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com