The MD of carrier services at the regional operator LIME has said that he sees “huge potential” for growth in the Cuban market.
In an interview with TelecomFinance, Martin Fijman also said that LIME was well-positioned to exploit this because of its…
The MD of carrier services at the regional operator LIME has said that he sees “huge potential” for growth in the Cuban market.
In an interview with TelecomFinance, Martin Fijman also said that LIME was well-positioned to exploit this because of its close relationship with the Cuban-Venezuelan cableco Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe (TGC).
LIME is part of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC).
It recently announced its partnership with TGC, a JV between Telecom Venezuela and the Cuban telco Transbit SA, on a new fibre-optic cable project that will run between Cuba and Venezuela with a stop in Jamaica.
Cuba is potentially the largest market in the Caribbean with a population of 11.4 million people, but its telecoms market is relatively undeveloped and it currently relies entirely on satellites for its international connectivity.
Fijman also emphasised that he sees the Caribbean is a vital hub for carrier services.
He said the region was “strategically positioned” as a location for carrier services, linking the US and Canada with the emerging markets of Latin America.
He added that the Caribbean was also seeing significant growth in both the numbers of subscribers and the amount of data consumption.
He said: “That [growth] is coming to the Caribbean and is already happening in South America.”
He estimated growth of no less than 50% in capacity demand for bandwidth in the Dominican Republic over the next five years.
In addition to the Cuba-Venezuela cable, LIME has been active recently with other cable projects in the region.
In February, it announced the completion of its undersea cable system that linked the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
CWC recently divested its operations on the island of Bermuda, but notably retained its stakes in two international cable systems in the region.
Fijman did not reveal any plans for additional cable projects in the region, claiming that the company was currently “busy feeding the capacity we have just created”.
