LIME (telecommunications company)
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
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
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
Services
- International and domestic voice telephone services;
- Data/IP services such as ADSL, Frame, or ISDN;
- Mobile/Wireless services including 3G, 4G across smartphone platforms such as Samsung and Apple.
- Other services including satellite-based communications and television services for select countries.
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 won one of the three franchises to offer cellular telephone services in the
Cable & Wireless plc regional profits
In 2005 according to the 2005 Cable & Wireless plc annual report:
- United Kingdom turnover: £1,602 million
- Caribbean turnover: £550 million
- Panama turnover: £257 million
- Macau turnover: £117 million
- Monaco Telecom turnover: £100 million
- Rest of the World turnover: £167 million
- Figures are from the financial report released to its shareholders the current listed financial breakdown for CWPLC is aforementioned by regional business segment.
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
References
- ^ "LIME brand axed, Flow elevated in unfolding telecoms merger". Jamaican Gleaner. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "LIME/Flow merger complete". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "Cable & Wireless Communications - Caribbean". Cable & Wireless Communications. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
- ^ a b "SKNVibes | Time to 'LIME' at Cable & Wireless". www.sknvibes.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ 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) - ^ "CWC gives LIME the boot, rebrands to Flow". Jamaica Observer. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ "Caribbean Telecoms Market Statistics and Analyses 2019 - ResearchAndMarkets.com". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ BVI Platinum news, 26 May 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BVI Platinum News, 25 May 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BVI Platinum news, 23 May 2007 and BVI Platinum news, 4 June 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "BBCCaribbean.com | Phone fight erupts over Caribbean". BBC. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ BVI Platinum news, 8 June 2007 and BVI Platinum news, 25 June 2007 Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Liberty Global splits off Caribbean and Latin American arm Archived 2021-01-09 at the Wayback Machine, January 3, 2018, Loop Jamaica News
- ^ Liberty Latin America Sells Cable & Wireless Seychelles, November 6, 2019, Liquid Africa.