Harry Smith (left) and David Hall

Cellular service provider, Digicel Jamaica is to mount a major promotion to mark its third year in Jamaica - with the company projecting to give away some $1.2 billion worth of talk-time over the 12 months that the marketing drive will run.

Digicel, which calls the promotion a 'loyalty reward programme', says each customer will be allotted $100 of free credit each month for twelve months, totalling $1,200 worth of talk time to each of its one million customers for the 12 months.

"Our loyalty programme is our way of saying thank you and nuff respect," says Harry Smith, Digicel's commercial director. "We are glad that we can show our gratitude in a tangible way."

Smith explained that to benefit from the promotion, Digicel's prepaid customers, would be automatically credited with the $100 once each calendar month, when they top up their account.

Post paid customers who pay their bills in full and on time will be credited on their subsequent bill.

The Irish owners of Digicel paid the Jamaican government in 1999, US$47 million for the licence to operate cellular service in Jamaica. Since then, the company has spent over US$500 million to set up a cellular infrastructure not just in Jamaica, but throughout the Caribbean where it later launched its service.

Less that two years after its April 2001 launch in Jamaica, Digicel captured the lead in the mobile market from former monopoly telecoms provider, Cable & Wireless Jamaica.

Market experts attribute Digicel's success in part to its savvy youth-focussed marketing, combined with the quick launch of its service, ahead of rival licence holder Centennial.

"We had originally planned to have a team of 175 employees but now we employ just over 600 persons directly," said David Hall, chief executive officer at Digicel Jamaica. "We have also generated a multitude of job opportunities with our dealers, sub-contractors and thousands of Flexcard vendors."

The company is now seeking licence in Trinidad & Tobago having already launched service in Aruba, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados and Cayman.

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