Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) yesterday announced an $800-million (US$13.1-million) project to expand its less than year-old GSM mobile telephone network, allowing for wider coverage and better service, even inside insulated buildings.

Sean Bryan, C&WJ's chief operating officer (COO), said that the project will include enhancing the strength of 130 cellular sites across Jamaica. A substantial part of the work will be completed by the end of June.

"The overlay will allow for a higher penetration of the mobile network," Bryan told reporters at a briefing at Kingston's Courtleigh Hotel.

Cable & Wireless, which lost its telephone monopoly in Jamaica three years ago, last summer rolled out its GSM network, having spent over US$70 million on the project. The GSM runs alongside its TDMA system.

Earlier this year the company announced that it had loan commitments for US$92 million, two-thirds from the US Ex-Im Bank and the remainder from Export Development Canada, to expand both its fixed line and mobile networks.

Yesterday, Bryan said that the expansion of the GSM network will be financed from internal resources and debt.

The upgrade is both in hardware and software and runs on the 850 mega hertz radio frequency, complementing C&WJ's 1900 mega hertz GSM band. The upgrade started yesterday and will continue until the end of June.

The company said that interruptions will occur on eight days during the five week upgrade, but these-were not specified. They will occur between 1:00 am to 5:00 am - the lowest usage period.

"Customers may see between 15 minutes and at worst three hours of interruptions," said Ian Neita, the vice-president who is in charge of C&W's mobile system.

C&WJ expects revenues to increase with the improvement of service. Fewer dropped calls will translate into revenue, it believes.

"It would drive revenues up by allowing (more) calls in buildings... thus increasing the capacity," said Neita.

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