By Shawn Seabrookes
Senior Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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| Chief Executive Officer of Cable and Wireless, Ms. Patricia Walters |
Cable and Wireless continues to work assiduously to ensure that it stays ahead of the supply and demand curve, especially in relation to internet service provision with the introduction of their US$140 million Cable and Wireless’ Next Generation Network for the Americas and the Caribbean region over a three year period, on Friday last, September 7th. With the introduction of this new initiative, the company, which is the only full service telecommunications provider in the Federation, also unveiled a number of initiatives that will redound to the benefit of consumers.
The highlight of the initiatives that have been unveiled is the increased download speed from 512 kbps to 2 Mbps, effective September 1st. Consumers will be paying the same price for the service, EC$99, as they were paying for the 512 kbps.
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| Mr. Robert Williams, Vice President of Consumer Services |
The launch also coincided with an impressive short offer that Cable and Wireless developed where consumers purchased a desk top computer for EC$799, with the increased internet speed included in the package.
Even though the above offer was only for a short period of time, the telecommunications giant has established a partnership with the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union, where consumers can make a deposit of ten percent and make payments over a 12 month period to acquire the personal computer.
The launching event at the Cable and Wireless office on Cayon Street was accepted graciously by hoards of consumers who flocked to the office to capitalize on the opportunity.
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| Customers trying to get internet connection and personal computers |
Mr. Robert Williams, Vice President of Consumer Services, spoke glowingly of the new services offered by his company during his overview of the new initiative.
“We say goodbye to Xnet with a heavy heart as we are all fond of it, but we welcome the name Cable and Wireless Broadband,” he stated.
“This new initiative brings a fourfold increase in download speed without any increase in price. This ensures that Cable and Wireless Broadband remains the overall best value proposition in the market place,” he added.
He outlined that with the rebranding of the product comes the simplified plans for consumers and for small to medium sized businesses.
In the consumer sector, there are three plans- the mega, the mega plus and the mega max. The mega plan features download speeds of 2.048 Mbps and upload speeds of 512 kbps for EC$99.
The mega plus plan entails download speeds of 3.072 Mbps and upload speeds of 512 kbps for just EC$149.
The final plan for consumers is the mega max which features download speeds of 6.144 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.024 Mbps for just EC$249.
The plans represent highly efficient means to download and upload large email attachments, video clips photos and music.
In the small to medium sized business sector there are an additional three plans- the premier, premier plus and premier max.
The premier plan features download speeds of 2.048 Mbps and upload speeds of 512kbps for a cost of $99.
The premier plus boasts download speeds of 6.144 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.024 Mbps for $279 while the premier max features download speeds of 8.192 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.544 Mbps for $349.
All the plans come with 24/7 call centre support.
As an added incentive, any new customer who signs up to the mega max plan, between now and the November 30th, will enjoy a 20 percent discount, hence paying just $79.20 a month for the service.
Chief Executive Officer of Cable and Wireless, Ms. Patricia Walters said her company thrives on utilizing all avenues to maintain its status as the leading innovative telecommunications company in the region and the very fact that St. Kitts and Nevis is the top internet using country in the region is impetus enough to work toward cementing such a goal.
Hon. Nigel Carty, Junior Minister with responsibility for Information and Technology, commended Cable and Wireless for their invaluable input into the technological sector, noting that it is especially critical as his Administration is investing heavily in ascertaining that every young person gets the opportunity to be computer literate.
He also noted that the Government is working toward being an “e-government”, in order to stay abreast with technological advances.
Cable and Wireless is expected to reveal some other interesting offers with regards to school students in the very near future as they continue to define the technological sector in St. Kitts and Nevis.
