Digicel Jamaica last Thursday (June 9) launched the country’s first LTE Network aimed at providing customers with ‘innovation that delivers record-breaking performance’. According to Digicel Jamaica CEO, this move followed a $6-billion investment by Digicel ahead of ‘imminent competition’.

This competition came in the form of Caricel, the newest player in the local mobile telecommunications sector, who had indicated its intent to roll out Jamaica’s first official LTE Network. Butler says while this decision was made independent of Caricel’s announcement, he also expects that the newest competitor will be forced to play catch up ‘as it will take time to build out a network’. He says Digicel’s build-out of its LTE platform has been around two years in the making, starting with the acquisition of a special spectrum band in 2014 and then the subsequent investment in technology.

Butler says the newly launched network will feed customers in Kingston and Montego Bay however plans are in place for the network to be rolled out nationally.

Speed tests carried out at the launch last Thursday show download speeds hitting 60 megabits per second (mbps) compared to the existing 10-13 mbps on its existing 4G network. Butler says while this only represents a fivefold increase, the network can deliver up to 100 mpbs, or ten times its current performance.

“This is the news Jamaica has been waiting for’ Butler said, “We’re focused on always delivering the most advanced mobile network technology that fits our customers’ lifestyle and budget. The activation of our LTE network is a major step in this direction”.