Digicel acquires cable TV

 DIGICEL has reached an agreement with Telstar Cable Ltd to acquire its cable and fibre network in Jamaica.

Telstar provides cable TV, broadband and telephony services.  On completion, which is subject to approval by the Broadcasting Commission, Digicel will invest significantly in the network to increase coverage and further expand the products, services and content available to cable customers in Jamaica.  

Group chief executive Colm Delves said: “We are investing heavily in cable TV, content and fibre across our markets to ensure that Digicel is positioned at the forefront of a data intensive world where our customers are able to enjoy multimedia experiences on multiple devices and avail of advanced solutions for their businesses.  

“We look forward to expanding our footprint further in this space in the coming year through a combination of acquisitions and greenfield builds.”

The acquisition will be Digicel’s fourth Caribbean cable acquisition in the past few months and will increase its cable footprint to six markets.

The firm has been investing heavily in greenfieldfibre build-outs having broken ground on next-generation fibre networks in Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad.  

This investment in fibre reflects the company’s ongoing focus on business solutions which has shown almost 40% year on year growth in revenues. These fibre builds are nearing completion and pre-selling of the services has already commenced.

In Papua New Guinea, Digicel will launch its first television station in the next four months.