The government of the island picked Digicel, owned by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien, after a competitive tender.
Kelver Darroux, the republic’s minister for information, science, telecommunications and technology, said: “This is a vital first step on the path towards Dominica becoming a world-leading climate resilient nation. We are on a mission to ensure we are strongly positioned for the future and that we have the right ICT infrastructure in place to take full advantage of the benefits of a strong digital economy.”
The hurricane caused damage estimated at $930 million to Dominica, more than twice the country’s gross domestic product. Now the company will undertake the rebuilding and provisioning of telecommunications, internet, data, cloud and other ICT services to all government sites, including every government office, school, community centre and health centre.
Digicel said: “This landmark agreement sees Digicel working in close partnership with the government to deliver a highly resilient, state-of-the-art network infrastructure, at a standard never seen before in the region.”
Digicel group CEO Alexander Matuschka said it was a “transformational project” that will provide “the foundation for the provision of new advanced digital services such as e-government, safe and smart cities, connected health and smart education and make them a powerful reality for the people of Dominica”.
Darroux added: “Telecommunications and ICT are vital necessities for all sectors in the Dominican economy. It is imperative that the role of telecommunications and ICT be seen as an economic resilience phenomenon and therefore a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity.”
