By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas needs a second mobile operator that will “raise the bar”, with the Opposition’s deputy leader questioning what caused Digicel’s “surprising” and abrupt exit from the licence bidding process.

K P Turnquest said: “Digicel’s exit does raise the issue as to what exactly was the process, and whether in fact there was some overriding factor that they were either uncomfortable with or found to be unacceptable from an investment point of view.

“It is surprising given that they were one of the first entities to have expressed interest in that second cellular license. Again, I think that it is something that ought to be explained to the Bahamian people.”

The Cellular Liberalisation Task Force last week said Digicel (Bahamas) “voluntarily decided not to proceed with its participation in the selection process”, but gave no reason for why the cellular giant had pulled out.

The move leaves just BISX-listed Cable Bahamas and Virgin Mobile (Bahamas) to participate in the auction for wireless spectrum that they will use to operate their networks. That auction is scheduled to take place this month, and will be administered by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA).

Digicel had invested in 18 months of due diligence on the Bahamian market, and was prepared to make a $200-$250 million investment in building out the 200-300 towers it would need for a cellular network in this nation.

The company had promised to create 1,000 construction and 300 full-time jobs if it won the bid for the second mobile licence, and had even gone to the extent of identifying where it would locate its customer service centres, head office and retail stores in the Bahamas.

“At the end of the day we want not just another cellular operator; we want another operator that is going to be able to provide an improved level of service, and provide the regional and international connectivity at affordable rates comparable to anything you can get in the US, UK or anywhere else in the world,” Mr Turnquest said.

“It may be all well and good to have a local operator, but if we are not able to get the kind of service that is world class then we are just shooting ourselves in the foot yet again.”

He added: “I think we need to be assured that due to the nature of our economy being one of international business, both from a financial services as well as a tourism side, we need to be confident that whoever the second cellular license is given to is going to be able to to live up to the quality service standards that will be internationally recognised, and world class service levels.

“We don’t need another BTC. We need an entity that is going to come in and raise the bar, and provide that exceptional quality service that is going to drive the entire industry forward and to a new level.”