Claro is reporting healthy sales with rollout of its islandwide 3G coverage, together with stores and dealerships, scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

Lauched last month, the Claro network currently has 70 per cent islandwide coverage with only Claro customers in major towns being served with 3G voice and data. Until the end of the year customers outside these areas can make voice calls using 3G but send data only via slower EDGE technology.

The mobile telecommunications provider was rebranded from MiPhone following the purchase of MiPhone's parent company Oceanic Digital Jamaica Limited by American Movil (AMX), Claro's parent company, last year. Claro currently operates six stores and 90 of a planned 190 dealerships are also selling its products, said Noel Esty, commercial director of Claro Jamaica.

Esty would not reveal sales figures - having launched with a customer base of 190,000 subscribers on the existing MiPhone CDMA network - but said that he was optimistic of increased sales during the Christmas season. He cited public interest in the 3G Apple iPhone, for which the company has exclusive distribution rights in Jamaica.

"Yes, definitely! We are soon launching our Christmas marketing campaign and when we do you'll see that we're not taking this market lightly," Esty told Sunday Finance. AMX has over 173 million international mobile subscribers, chiefly in Latin America, dwarfing its local rival Digicel, which otherwise dominates the Jamaican market with over 1.9 million.

AMX came to Jamaica following Digicel's entrance into its market in El Salvador. Digicel earlier this week launched in another AMX market, Honduras.

Fully operational Claro's 3G, or third generation GSM network promises improved quality compared to the older 2G networks of LIME and Digicel. Having rebranded from Cable & Wireless in the Caribbean market, LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment/Cable) was scheduled to launch the rollout of its own 3G network last month.

LIME occupies second place in the local mobile market with 660,000 customers.

With no plans to launch its own 3G network Digicel has instead placed its faith in the 'fourth generation' technology of WiMAX. This is dependent on the approval of its license application to the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA).

Claro has constructed 600 cellular towers islandwide and currently has 70 per cent as part of a total investment of US$250 million, which included the purchase price of MiPhone parent Company Oceanic Digital Limited last year.

The company has also sought to clarify their position regarding the protest by sub-contractors employed to erect the cell towers, regarding outstanding payment for their work.

Esty stressed that as sub-contractors Claro had not dealt directly with them and as such the company was previously unaware of the dispute but had since instructed contractor Huawei Technologies Jamaica Limited to settle the dispute.

The company suspects that some of the protesters were paid to do so outside its corporate offices on Knutsford Boulevard this week.

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