Battle of the cellphone giants
Business Editorial
Stabroek News
February 16, 2007
This week marked the start of what promises to be a marketing showdown between GT&T and Digicel. It was, of course, entirely predictable. The cellular service industry is by far the fastest growing commercial pursuit in Guyana and with the launch of fifty new Digicel outlets throughout the country to add to the scores of vendors associated with GT&T, cell phone vending seems set to become as common as corner shops in Guyana.
And while it sometimes seems as though every man, woman and child in the Republic is the owner of at least one handset, Digicel, with its considerable experience of the regional market, estimates that less than a quarter of the local demand has been satisfied and that market can probably accommodate a further 400,000 handsets.
What makes the handset industry particularly lucrative is the fact that the strategy that has been applied to its marketing has presented it to the consumer both as a communication tool and as a fashion appendage. Over time, the basic instrument has been complemented by a bewildering array of additional features and decorative enhancements that have pandered to consumer proclivity for "keeping up" with the latest models. Multiple handset acquisitions have also become commonplace among gadget buffs and more particularly among the young and impressionable.
One of the more interesting points raised at Digicel's press conference last Tuesday was the implications of vastly improved communication resulting from the proliferation of cell phones for the planning and execution of crimes. There is more than sufficient evidence to conclude that the ability to communicate quickly and discretely over long distances has aided the effectiveness of criminals the world over. Certainly in Guyana cell phones have featured prominently in a number of crimes and have posed new, more exacting challenges for law enforcement.
This, of course, is not nearly sufficient reason to criticize this remarkable instrument. Enhancing the efficiency of communication among people improves the quality of social life, renders business transactions more efficient and, ultimately, contributes to the economic development of countries.
The marketing "war" that is now well and truly underway between GT&T and Digicel promises to ensue on a scale never before seen in Guyana. It is a healthy sign in a private sector-driven economy. Monopolies remove the prerogative of choice, create room for harmful and exploitative market manipulation and provide no incentive for improvement in the quality of goods and services. Healthy competition is good for free enterprise.
And while the profit motive remains a legitimate objective of the investor the growth of the cellular industry in Guyana holds out the promise of a qualitative improvement in communication across this vast country, a limitation that continues to inhibit its development. The outward expansion of GT&T and Digicel across the furthest reaches of Guyana holds a significance that goes far beyond their battle for market share.