Up Front
C&W opens communicationsstation at School-House Road
Photo: Mr. Tim Adam, C&W'sGeneral Manager
At the opening: Left- Right; NACE Secretary, Dr. Frank McField, NACE President Ms.Dorline Welcome, C&W's Indirect Sales Channel Manager, Mr.Alec Fa-amoe, and C&W Head of Data and Internet, Mr. Sam Tibbetts
Linda Rutherford
Amidst a profusion of balloons and tasselsin the sobering blues and white favoured by the company, Cableand Wireless on Monday, October 30 commissioned its second AnnexCommunication Station (ACS) - in essence a bank of 14 telephonekiosks in more palatable surroundings than is customary - in anarea on the periphery of George Town that is popularly referredto as 'School-House Road'.
The first such facility is located on Cardinal Avenue, cateringmainly to the cruise ship passengers. This location is being operatedby the jewelry firm, Colombian Emeralds.
This, Cable & Wireless' latest ACS, is located in a neighbourhoodthat is regarded as lower-income and has a high immigrant population.
The venture is being partnered on this occasion by NACE (NationalAlliance of Cayman Islands Employees), a fledgling trade unionheadquartered in the area. The station is, in fact, housed onthe ground floor of the same two-storied building which is theheadquarters of NACE.
Said Company Indirect Sales Channel Manager, Mr. Alee Fa-amoe:"We saw the need to provide more accessible telecommunicationsin this area. Rather than have people standing out in the rainin a phone booth, or trying to get to someplace before it closesto buy a phone card, we decided to provide this environment witha lot of people access to the phones and the cards."
The rationale in this, he said, is that Cable & Wireless hadcome to realise that there were clusters of communities in Caymanwhere people do not necessarily have any access to regular telephoneservice. "We wanted to be able to serve those communitieswith better pay-phone stations that were enclosed, air conditionedand not outdoors. We also wanted to have an outlet to those communitiesfor our products and services," Mr. Fa-Amoe said.
The facility opens at 8:00am and closes at 12:00pm and is beingmanned by NACE on a profit-sharing basis. The opening hours, itis said, were agreed upon during consultations between Cable &Wireless and the community. Plans are also in train, Mr. Fa-Amoesaid, to convert a back room now being used for storage into aninternet café.
Asked whether the initiative was NACE's or the telephone company's,Mr. Fa-amoe said it was rather uncanny in the sense that justas Cable & Wireless was casting around for an opportunityto do just what it has done, NACE Secretary Dr. Frank McFieldcalled with the very same proposal. This was about a month ago,he said
Said Dr. McField about NACE's involvement in the project: "Whatwe've been trying to do is to control and manage the resourcesin the community based upon a spirit of unity and co-operation,which is one of the principles on which the union is founded."
"We're just bringing that particular concept to the communityas well, in order to allow them to be able to begin to createthings for themselves rather than depend upon people to createit for them.
"It also gives them a good idea of what a business is allabout because it's where they work. We believe it is also thedesire of each employee to become an employer and this is teachingpeople how to become an employer by owning business," Dr.McField said.
"What we're doing is basically taking telephones off thestreets and putting them in a building where it 's air-conditioned;where people can sit down; where they can be comfortable; andwhere the dignity of the person can be preserved," he concluded.
To NACE President, Ms. Dorline Welcome, it is a bit overwhelmingthat the organisation could have accomplished so much in its oneshort year in existence. "It just goes to show how much youcan accomplish when you pull together," she said.
Meanwhile, the phones at Megatron were said to be 'ringing offthe hook' no sooner than the first advertisement announcing C&W'sexciting new offer of a spanking new, multi-media, Internet-readyDell Personal Computer (PC) all for CI$64 a month over the nextthree years was aired on Radio Cayman on Friday October 27.
The deal, which comes with the added monthly bonus of 30 hoursof access to the Internet free of charge, is a result of whatin business parlance is called a strategic alliance involvingCable & Wireless, US-based Dell Computer Corporation and itslocal distributor, Megatron Ltd., and Barclays Bank, PLC.
There is, however, a CI$99 cost attached to having the unit professionallyinstalled, but delivery, on the other hand, is free.
Said C&W General Manager Mr. Timothy Adam at a press conferenceon Friday October 27 to launch the package: "Through thePC package, we are enabling more people to access the Internetfrom the convenience of their own homes."
Noting that research conducted by C&W has shown that not toomany families in Cayman can afford to buy a PC at today's goingprices, Mr. Adam said: "It is a reality that a large percentageof people do not have the ability to purchase a PC because ofthe high up-front costs." He said that over 50 per cent ofthe people surveyed said they could not afford it.
Noting further that the Internet is undoubtedly the fastest growingarea of communications today, so much so that it is now becomingan essential part of both business and home life in the CaymanIslands, Mr. Adam said: "Cable & Wireless is determinedto open up the potential of the Internet to as many people aspossible with this new, simple and low-cost package."
Besides a 15-inch monitor, CD-ROM drive, speakers, modem amongother attractive features, he said, the package also includesservice by way of a three-year warranty from the manufacturer.This aspect of the deal, he said, will be handled directly byMegatron and will cover all parts and labour.
He said that while Barclays will be providing the financing, thecompleted application forms are to be submitted to Cable &Wireless, which will then further them to the Bank for approval.Cable & Wireless will inform the customer of the Bank's decision,which is estimated to be within four days.
It is anticipated that delivery will be within four weeks of approval.Said Barclay's Managing Director Mr. Peter Hinson about the Bank'sinterest in the deal: "One of the key reasons we were keenon joining in was because it furthers the development of the Interneton the island. That is the future of communications so we aredelighted to be there helping."
Asked whether upgrading the system was part of the warranty, giventhe rate at which technology is changing today, Megatron's ManagingDirector Mr. Chris Lopez said: "... we'll have to deal directlywith factory on that because this package was put together asa complete package at this point in time."
He said, somewhat cryptically, however, that given Megatron'srelationship with Dell over the years and the latter's known flexiblenature, there were any number of possibilities that might be available.
But, at this juncture, he said: "I can't commit right nowexactly what they would be, but we're going to be dealing withDell going down the road to see what type of options are availableto people in time as the technology increases "
He anticipates, however, "that within a month or two of talkingwith the factory that we will be able to come back with some specificsregarding what can be done and when."
Based on market research, C&W projects selling 800 units locally.It has also introduced the package in Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincentand the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts, Antigua &Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands andthe Turks & Caicos Islands.