LIME (telecommunications company)

Last updated
LIME
Industry Mobile telecommunications
Founded3 November 2008
Defunct7 May 2015 [1]
FateMerged into FLOW [2]
Website Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-12-25)

LIME, an acronym for 'Landline, Internet, Mobile, Entertainment', was a communications provider owned by the British based Cable & Wireless Communications for its operations in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean. [3]

Contents

The company formed from the integrated businesses of Cable & Wireless in the Caribbean which adopted the LIME name on 3 November 2008. [4] LIME operates as the native, incumbent telecommunications service provider in many of the islands where they reside. [5]

The company also operated mobile telecommunications under the bmobile brand from 2003 until rebranding them as LIME in 2008. [4] Competitors include Digicel (largest mobile competitor).

Cable & Wireless Communications, LIME's parent company, also owns a 49% share in TSTT in Trinidad & Tobago and a 49% share in BaTelCo in The Bahamas.

The company is the only authorized carrier licensed by Apple to sell iPhones under contract, as well as being the only approved carrier for use (by Apple) in the English-speaking Caribbean. This was obtained in 2011 after Claro's exit from the Jamaican market.

In 2015, LIME's parent company acquired Columbus Communications and decided to adopt the brand name FLOW for its consumer-facing business, replacing the LIME name. [6] As of May 2016, the LIME name was fully discontinued. [7]

Services

Background

The history of Cable & Wireless' network build-out in the Caribbean region dates back to the 1880s. In recent times the West Indies unit has been considered 'key' in global revenue turnover.

bmobile's headquarters in the BVI. BMobile BVI headquarters.jpg
bmobile's headquarters in the BVI.

bmobile won one of the three franchises to offer cellular telephone services in the British Virgin Islands in 2007. [8] However, rival operator Digicel issued court proceedings against the British Virgin Islands regulator, arguing that he had acted improperly by imposing a limit of three licenses (one of which was awarded to a local cable television company and has not been exercised). bmobile was joined to the suit as an interested party. High Court Judge Rita Joseph-Olivetti found in favour of Digicel and quashed the original decision, [9] which had been controversial. [10] However, despite the court's ruling, Digicel received a license to operate in the Territory in 2008. Digicel lost separate proceedings against Cable and Wireless (as bmobile's parent company) in the English courts, claiming that Cable & Wireless has unfairly stifled competition in several Caribbean jurisdictions. [11] During the intervening period, bmobile has obtained a virtual stranglehold on the cellular telecommunications market in the British Virgin Islands by a combination of low prices and aggressive advertising, as well as significant investment in infrastructure and technology. [12]

Cable & Wireless plc regional profits

In 2005 according to the 2005 Cable & Wireless plc annual report:

In March 2010 the Cable & Wireless plc split into Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc (now a subsidiary of Vodafone) and Cable & Wireless Communications plc (now a subsidiary of Liberty Latin America). [13] LIME had prior became a subsidiary of C&W Communications. [14]

In November 2014, the brand's parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications announced its merger with Columbus Communications. The merger has since become a hot button in the region especially since the company's largest competitor, Digicel lacks sufficient fixed line voice and data capability. This would make the amalgamated entity hold a monopoly on such services. The merger, despite being green lit by key markets such as Jamaica, is still being awaited regulatory approval by other markets.

In April 2015, it was announced that the brand was to be retired in favor of the name FLOW in Summer 2015, which was the customer-facing brand name of the Columbus Communications. Reasons cited by the company for the name change were results from an independent study which indicated that customers perception of LIME's brand was that of lackluster customer service and at times, spotty service. The study also found FLOW's to be much more positive and all round well received. This name change will occur across all the markets in which Cable & Wireless Communications operates as LIME.

See also

Related Research Articles

Country Code: +1284
International Call Prefix: 011

Telecommunications in Jamaica include the fixed and mobile telephone networks, radio, television, and the Internet.

Communications in Barbados refers to the telephony, internet, postal, radio, and television systems of Barbados. Barbados has long been an informational and communications centre in the Caribbean region. Electricity coverage throughout Barbados is good and reliable. Usage is high and provided by a service monopoly, Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AT&T Mobility</span> American telecommunications company

AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 222.8 million subscribers at the end of Q1 2023.

Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide.

Liberty Global plc is a multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with the first of these being publicly traded. It was formed in 2005 by the merger of the international arm of Liberty Media and UnitedGlobalCom (UGC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago</span> Telephone and internet service provider in Trinidad and Tobago

Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited is a large telephone and Internet service provider in Trinidad and Tobago. The company, which is jointly owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and Cable & Wireless Communications, was formed out of a merger of Telco and Textel. TSTT no longer holds a monopoly in fixed-line telephone services due to FLOW introducing a fixed-line service of their own, and their cellular monopoly was broken in June 2005 when licenses were granted to Digicel and Laqtel.

Sunbeach Communications Inc. is an Internet service provider and mobile/wireless phone company located in Barbados. Since the mid-1990s, Sunbeach is one of the main competitors to the incumbent telecommunications company Cable and Wireless in providing Internet services. Sunbeach was badly affected by the financial crisis of 2008 leading to halted VC investments and the link disconnection on 23 March 2013. The Sunbeach website remains in a temporary state and offers no new products or further information. Customers found themselves without Internet and no official communication from the company on the morning of 24 March 2013. No statement has been received from the company since the disconnection until date (Q2-2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claro (company)</span> Mexican wireless operator

Claro Company, known as Claro Mexico or simply Claro, is a Mexican company part of América Móvil, a Mexican telecom group. Claro serves clients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. The company's name means "bright," "clear," and also "of course," in both Portuguese and Spanish.

Southern Caribbean Fiber,, is an underwater 20 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) fiber optics ring network connecting several nations and overseas territories of the Caribbean Sea. The initial phase of construction extended from Needham's Point, Saint Michael, Barbados to Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands where it interconnects with Global Crossing's worldwide telecommunications network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sure (company)</span> Telecommunications company

Sure, a trading brand of Batelco, is a telecommunications company in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, the Falkland Islands, St. Helena, Ascension Island, and the British Indian Ocean Territory. Sure is the largest tri-island mobile operator across the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

bmobile

bmobile is a Mobile Phone, Home Security provider, and fixed wireless provider of Trinidad and Tobago, operating as a division of TSTT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GO (Malta)</span>

GO p.l.c. is a Maltese integrated telecommunications company. It is a quadruple play provider that offers local and long distance telephone services, wireless services, digital terrestrial television, DSL and Fiber to the home internet access. GO is based in Marsa, Malta.

Cable & Wireless Communications Ltd operating as C&W Communications is a telecommunications company which has operations in the Caribbean and Central America. It is owned by Liberty Latin America and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus Communications</span>

Columbus Communications was a cable television, telephone, and broadband speed Internet service provider. Operating as a regional media company, Columbus is currently financially based in Barbados and provides services in Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Flow is a trade name of the Caribbean former telecommunications provider Cable & Wireless Communications used to market cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. Flow also replaced the UTS brand in the Dutch and French Caribbean, following their acquisition of United Telecommunications Service (UTS).

References

  1. ↑ "LIME brand axed, Flow elevated in unfolding telecoms merger". Jamaican Gleaner. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "LIME/Flow merger complete". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Cable & Wireless Communications - Caribbean". Cable & Wireless Communications. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  4. 1 2 "SKNVibes | Time to 'LIME' at Cable & Wireless". www.sknvibes.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  5. ↑ Business News America. "Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited". Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2010.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ "CWC gives LIME the boot, rebrands to Flow". Jamaica Observer. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  7. ↑ "Caribbean Telecoms Market Statistics and Analyses 2019 - ResearchAndMarkets.com". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  8. ↑ BVI Platinum news, 26 May 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ BVI Platinum News, 25 May 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ BVI Platinum news, 23 May 2007 and BVI Platinum news, 4 June 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "BBCCaribbean.com | Phone fight erupts over Caribbean". BBC. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  12. ↑ BVI Platinum news, 8 June 2007 and BVI Platinum news, 25 June 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Liberty Global splits off Caribbean and Latin American arm Archived 2021-01-09 at the Wayback Machine , January 3, 2018, Loop Jamaica News
  14. ↑ Liberty Latin America Sells Cable & Wireless Seychelles, November 6, 2019, Liquid Africa.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.