Cable & Wireless Communications Columbus International have said that their proposed merger will increase competition with Digicel, enhance customer choice and boost long-term investment and employment across the Caribbean.
In a statement on Friday in response to one issued by their fierce rival Digicel on Thursday, the two companies said: "We welcome Ectel's commitment to understand fully the impact of this transaction. Naturally, in any large deal relating to operations in 42 Latin American and Caribbean countries, there will be concerns in the six markets where overlapping operations exist.
"We are committed to ensuring that customer choice and competition are promoted by our transaction. Columbus and CWC senior management have been meeting with governments and regulators in those six countries affected by the merger–St Vincent & the Grenadines, Jamaica, T&T and Barbados this week–and we plan to visit St Lucia and Grenada next week, as well as to meet with the Ectel executive to address concerns raised."
The two companies said they have been encouraged by the open conversations with some of the key stakeholders impacted by this announcement.
The companies said: "The facts are that this transaction will bolster competition against our larger competitor (that had also bid for the same Columbus assets); it will also increase customer choice and boost long term investment and employment across the Caribbean. We firmly believe that this transaction will be received positively by our customers and governments alike.
"Once we obtain the necessary clearances, LIME and Flow customers can look forward to a full range of exciting new products, with unmatched quality of networks and download speeds, savings on their current prices, and an improvement in overall service levels. We expect to update our customers on our new plans once we have finalised our discussions with the regulators and governments of the communities we serve."