Latin American mobile phone giant America Movil (AMX) is currently undertaking a massive network expansion plan in Jamaica that will provide the platform for MiPhone to aggressively take on Digicel and Cable and Wireless this year.

Highly placed sources in the telecoms industry say America Movil's entry into the local market is a direct response to Digicel's incursion into Central America, which has, for years, been the playground for AMX, owned by multi-billionaire Carlos Slim, now estimated as the richest man in the world.

Last August, AMX inked the deal to acquire MiPhone from Oceanic Digital and has already put in place the switch that will allow it to convert its technological platform from CDMA, currently used by the newly capitalised firm, to GSM used by the two larger players in the market, according to well-placed sources.

And more importantly, the firm has been grabbing up cell site towers from all over the world "once it meets their specifications", said one source, in an effort to rapidly expand its network.

Sources estimate that the network will have well over twice as many cell sites than are currently in operation by April, which will give MiPhone the coverage it will need to take on the two larger players.

Digicel, the Irish-owned company headed by Denis O'Brien that has enjoyed the lion's share of the local mobile market since it wrenched control from Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) early in the decade when the telecommunications sector was liberalised, is said to be on high alert for fear of poaching from its technical staff.

Marketing guru Seamus Lynch, who oversaw the introduction of the Digicel brand to Jamaica, was in the island two weeks ago, sparking speculation within the sector that the firm plans to bring back the Irishman to help ramp up marketing to protect its share of the market - said to be 1.8 million subscribers.

Industry sources also said the fact that Digicel's other marketing genius, Harry Smith, has retired, should give that company cause to worry.

Cable & Wireless Jamaica, which has around 800,000 subscribers, has been relatively quiet on the matter. In response to Business Observer queries, the British-owned telecom firm's vice president of corporate communications and corporate affairs, Errol Miller, said his company "remains ready to compete with all players on the Jamaican telecoms landscape".

"We believe that we are prepared to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace," he said. "Our objective is to meet customer demands in this rapidly changing environment by strongly leveraging our unique product suites and excellent value proposition."

Digicel Jamaica's CEO David Hall had a lot more to say, postulating that the Jamaican market could only accommodate two large players with perhaps one smaller operator.

"The reality is who will it be fighting to stay alive in another three to five years," Hall told the Business Observer.

MiPhone's communication officer, Helen Minnott, said her firm would not comment at this time.

What's clear is that Jamaican consumers are expected to once again benefit from intensified competition in the sector, which saw prices on phone calls and cellphones plummet in the face of heavy competition and subsidies on instruments when Digicel entered the market.

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