Tired of being the unmistakable underdog in a market dominated by its two competitors, the operators of MiPhone are to launch a marketing programme to grab corporate customers from the competition with the promise of rates that the firm says they will simply not be able to resist.

Wilfred Bailey, vice-president of commercial operations, at MiPhone, told the Business Observer that the telecom would be approaching customers from the two other local cellular networks - Cable and Wireless and Digicel - with bargain rates, beginning later this month.

"This will be more affordable to customers and networks will never again be able to maintain exorbitant charges in the marketplace," said Bailey.

The expected outcome, according to Bailey, is one of three scenarios:

. customers requesting better offer from their existing provider when they look at MiPhone's offer;

. customers taking MiPhone's offer and leave existing provider; or

. share business with MiPhone and their existing network.
Bailey pointed out that already, his company was offering the lowest rates from cellular phones to landlines.

"We are charging $7 per minute irrespective all day long seven days a week while for Digicel it is $12 for a similar call and $10 at peak hours for Cable and Wireless," Bailey said.

Bailey said that MiPhone had islandwide coverage since February 2005, and that the network has been "regularly upgraded" since then.

He claimed that the technology used by MiPhone was more environmentally friendly than that of his competitors.

"The other networks needs six cell sites to cover the same area that we use one to cover, so therefore we are more environmentally friendly" he said.

MiPhone like Digicel paid the government some US$45 million for the cellular licence over four years ago, but came onto the market several months after Digicel.

The result is that it has lagged behind in customer count, with Digicel now boasting over 1.3 million customers to C&W's last reported count of around 700,000 and MiPhone's 100,000.

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