Fidelity Wireless Launches Broadband Service In Barbados

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

30 January 2007

Fidelity Wireless has revealed plans to offer Internet, phone and IPTV/Video on demand services (so called 'triple play') over a new state of the art wireless broadband network to the residential and business community in Barbados.

Fidelity will soon commence the construction of a new nationwide ‘WIMAX’ wireless broadband network, with service due to commence in Barbados in the second quarter 2007. The company has based its regional operational headquarters in Barbados, where it is locating its back office support and network operations centre. Fidelity has licence applications pending in seven other regional markets.

WIMAX is the new worldwide standard for wireless broadband Internet technology. Fidelity, together with its technology partners, has developed an advanced solution for the delivery of multimedia services over Wimax, and the Barbados network will be the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean.

“Our goal at Fidelity is to provide personal anytime-anywhere broadband connectivity at an affordable price” explained Robert Condon, Chief Executive officer of the company. “In the same way that many people have given up their land lines in favour of cell phones, WIMAX could replace cable and DSL services, providing universal wireless Internet access. Connecting to WIMAX will be painless; by simply turning on your PC, laptop, TV set-top box, smartphone, MP3 player, etc. you will automatically be connected to the closest available WIMAX antenna.”

“Many people will have read in the press recently about the launch of the new Apple iphone. This is the future of mobile communications providing telephone, e-mail/Internet access, TV/Video and music all in one hand-held device. WIMAX will provide the wireless broadband connectivity for these devices,” announced Fidelity’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Zoe DeHavilland.

The tele-economy of Barbados is now more than US$250 million annually and growing. Barbados has the highest GDP per capita, and the highest Internet penetration and usage in the region. Affordable high speed broadband Internet is one of the key drivers in the modern economy. It bridges the digital divide in the community, improves business efficiency and competitiveness and is a crucial factor in attracting inward investment.

Broadband Internet penetration in Barbados is amongst the highest in the Caribbean at around 20%, but Fidelity believes that with the introduction of new ‘IP’ multimedia services the market is set to change, and that by 2012 both residential and business broadband penetration will exceed 50%.

Fidelity will be offering high speed wireless broadband Internet connectivity at speeds of between 500Kb/sec and 2Mb/sec to the residential community and domestic/international leased circuits of between 1Mb/sec and 155Mb/sec to the business and public services sector.

“Competition in the Eastern Caribbean telecom markets has historically been stifled by the C&W monopoly. However, the situation is now changing with the arrival of new regional wholesale carriers who have installed high capacity submarine cable links to the US thus providing a choice of wholesale bandwidth to new operators," DeHavilland argued.

" This will have the effect of substantially lowering the wholesale transit charges with savings being passed on to the consumer. In fact, C&W will be one of the carriers providing Fidelity with a range of services including site sharing, fibre backhaul, wholesale voice and Internet connectivity. These days it is quite normal for network operators to share each others facilities and infrastructure.” she concluded.

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