Digicel making progress in restoring customers post Melissa

 

Digicel Jamaica says it has achieved substantial progress in restoring connectivity across communities impacted by Hurricane Melissa. 

 

The system tore through parts of the island in October, leaving widespread damage in its wake. 

 

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Murad explained that the pace of Digicel's restoration work is directly linked to the Jamaica Public Service Company's recovery timeline, as the utility provider lost several poles during the hurricane. 

 

"One would be JPS restoring 100% of the commercial grid, the back on the network and also we utilise in some parts of the country, Flow's transport network, in particular the South Ring. So in essence going from North Manchester all the way through St. Elizabeth around to Sav-la-Mar.... That network is basically on the ground. It's so badly damaged. So the connectivity that we have up there at the moment is temporary. We're utilising a lot of microwave and satellite technology to keep those alive at the moment," he disclosed. 

 

In the meantime, responding to questions about the possibility of customers switching to Starlink, which provides satellite internet, Mr. Murad said he is not phased. 

 

"I've been in this industry for over 25 years, you know. Technology changes every single day, and that's what excites me. I guess that's why I'm in the job...so I'm excited by technology changes. And if I can be direct, there's 50 sites roughly today that I wouldn't have online; I couldn't service 50 mobile towers today if we hadn't been able to utilise the Starlink technology," he admitted.

 

Mr. Murad was speaking on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines on Monday.