CWC-Columbus merger could harm competition in three Caribbean markets – Caribbean
Tricom to deploy 2,700km fiber optic network in DR by 2018 – Dominican R.
Caribbean antitrust body to look at CWC-Columbus acquisition – Caribbean
Xinwei deploys infrastructure in Nicaragua – Nicaragua
Heroes and villains – the 2015 Copa America on social media – Chile, Regional

CWC-Columbus merger could harm competition in three Caribbean markets – Caribbean
St. Lucia-based telecom regulator Ectel will look into Cable & Wireless Communications’ (CWC) acquisition of Columbus International because, according to managing director Embert Charles, three of its five member states will be affected by the deal, since the merger will reduce competition in those markets.
“In the case of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada, if two providers have come together, then it means you have reduced competition, and there are potential negative effects,” said Charles in a speech broadcast by the West Indies News Network.
Ectel had previously announced it would investigate the merger in late June to ensure it was not compromising fair competition in the region. The watchdog addressed this concern after Caricom’s antitrust body said that there was enough reason to look into the transaction.
CWC announced its intention to acquire Columbus International in November, a decision that was met with much criticism from competing operator Digicel. The Jamaica-based provider called on several regional regulators to look into the transaction, claiming it was a threat to fair competition in the region.
However, governments and regulatory institutions, including those in Jamaica and Trinidad, eventually approved the transaction. CWC completed its acquisition of Columbus International for US$3.02bn in March, five months after it was first announced.

Tricom to deploy 2,700km fiber optic network in DR by 2018 – Dominican R.
Dominican Republic’s triple play operator Tricom announced that it will expand its fiber optic network in the next three years and ultimately build a 2,700km network that reaches 600,000 homes.
Rosario Veras, marketing manager at Tricom, said that the plan was already underway. “By the end of 2015 Tricom will have reached 200,000 new homes and over 1,500 companies,” she told Presnario, adding that the network will have reached 1,038km.
Fellow Dominican operator Wind Telecom has also been focused on expanding its fiber optic network and improving services with an investment of US$27mn.
The island has been catching up with upgrades to its telecom market. Watchdog Indotel has resolved to bury the wire and cable network that brings broadband to the island in order to help improve the aesthetics of Santo Domingo.
Operators Claro, Tricom, Wind Telecom, Viva Dominicana, Orange, Aster and Onemax agreed to start taking down the unused cable to “visually clean up” the historic center of Santo Domingo.

Caribbean antitrust body to look at CWC-Columbus acquisition – Caribbean
Guyana-based fair competition watchdog Caricom’s Competition Commission has said that there is reason to look into the acquisition of Columbus International by Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC).
The organization said in an official release that it will consult the member states and decide whether there is merit for an investigation into the merger and how it will affect competition in the Caribbean.
Should the organization not reach an agreement, it could be shofted to Caricom’s Council for Trade and Economic Development. The Commission said that the consultation will be completed “in a timely manner,” although it did not provide a schedule.
CWC announced its intention to acquire Columbus International in November, a decision that was met with much criticism from competing operator Digicel. The Jamaica-based provider called on several regional regulators to look into the transaction, claiming it was a threat to fair competition in the region.
However, governments and regulatory institutions, including Jamaica and Trinidad, eventually approved the transaction. CWC completed its acquisition of Columbus International for US$3.02bn in March, five months after it was first announced.
The new company will operate under the brand Flow, except for Panama and the Bahamas, where the brands of Más Móvil and BTC, respectively, will be retained.

Xinwei deploys infrastructure in Nicaragua – Nicaragua
Chinese company Xinwei, which has a concession for telecom services in Nicaragua, has started deploying infrastructure around the country’s capital, despite not yet having announced a launch date.
Several neighborhoods in Managua have seen electrical boxes with the Xinwei logo pop up on cable posts, according to local newspaper La Prensa, which could indicate that the company is getting ready to start services.
Since winning the concession two years ago, Xinwei has kept its plans quiet. Orlando Castillo, head of industry watchdog Telcor, has not made any announcements regarding the arrival of the operator to the country.
Xinwei won six licenses in 2014 to provide cell phone, public phone, landline, data, internet and cable TV in the country. The licenses to operate public and mobile telephony, internet, data and cable TV services are for 10 years, whereas the license for local and long distance fixed lines is for 20 years.
Xinwei had previously received spectrum in January 2013 in a highly suspect process in which the Chinese company was apparently the only bidder.
The launch, which was once scheduled for 2013, was repeatedly delayed with no explanation, with the latest date set for services to start being the end of 2014, which eventually came and went with no news from Xinwei.
More controversy arose when it became known that Xinwei’s owner is Wang Jing, president of HK Nicaragua Canal Development (HKDN), the Hong Kong-based construction company that has been awarded the concession to develop Nicaragua’s inter-oceanic canal.

Heroes and villains – the 2015 Copa America on social media – Chile, Regional
Social media sites were abuzz during the Copa America South American soccer tournament that ended this weekend, with Instagram, Facebook and Twitter racking up dizzying traffic numbers fueled by passion, euphoria, disappointment and controversy.
The Copa, which is soccer’s oldest international tournament, dating back to 1916, fell short in terms of traffic compared to the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil, which was the most commented-upon sports event in the history of social media.
From June 12 to July 13, 2014, 350mn people worldwide generated 3bn World Cup-related interactions on Facebook. By comparison, from June 1 to July 4, 2015, some 59mn people generated 309mn interactions on the same social media channel.
But that level of traffic is still no mean feat considering that the Copa America is a South America-only tournament, but is also not surprising as Latin Americans are among the most active on social media worldwide.
Only last week, Twitter opened an office in Mexico, its third after having opened two in Brazil.
Latin America is expected to be the fastest growing region for Twitter, growing by 17.4% in 2015, above the global average of 14.1%, according to e4Marketer.
Almost 75% of Mexico’s active Twitter users access Twitter from their mobile devices. Brazil is said to boast the third largest Twitter base in the world after the US and India.
And Facebook has more than 94mn monthly users in Brazil, 85% of whom connect via mobile devices. Brazil is Instagram’s largest market outside the US.
THE COPA AMERICA IN FIGURES
During the championship, that lasted June 11- July 4, more than 14bn tweets related to the Copa America were viewed. These include tweets that were seen by people that were not logged on to Twitter or that were posted on other websites.
During the final on Saturday July 4, which hosts Chile won against Argentina in a dramatic penalty shootout, 11.5mn people generated 26mn interactions on Facebook with Chile the most commented country followed by Argentina and Brazil.
Some 30mn people generated 185mn interactions on photo- and video-sharing site Instagram from June 9-July 4, while on Facebook, 59mn people generated 309mn interactions.
COUNTRIES
The Chilean flag was not surprisingly the most popular flag emoji on Instagram given that Chile was the eventual champion.
While the final between Chile and Argentina was the most commented match on Instagram, Colombia figured in three of the most commented games – Colombia vs Brazil, Colombia vs Argentina, and Colombia vs Venezuela – which had their fair share of controversy such as the expulsion of Brazil’s Neymar against Colombia and the nail-biting penalty shoot-out between Argentina and Colombia, where the former emerged victorious.
AltThough Argentina lost to Chile in the final, Argentina was the most tweeted about nation during the Copa America, ahead of Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay.

Chile’s Gary Medel (left) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi were two of the players that got most attention on Instagram. (CREDIT: AFP)
THE PLAYERS
So which players got the most attention during the tournament, for the right or wrong reasons?
The players that got most mentions on Facebook were Argentina’s stalwart defender Javier Mascherano and Chile’s striker Alexis Sanchez, who scored the winning penalty in the final.
On Instagram, Brazilian and Argentine superstars Neymar and Lionel Messi were the most popular players, although Chilean players Gary Medel, Claudio Bravo and Eduardo Vargas also figured high on the list.
On Twitter the Argentine players were among the most commented on, with Lionel Messi (@TeamMessi), Carlos Tevez (@carlitos3210), and Javier Mascherano (@Mascherano) taking first, third and fourth place. Brazil’s Neymar was second.
The Barcelona star was sent off at the end of Brazil’s defeat to Colombia after he kicked a ball in frustration at Colombia’s Pablo Armero. The incident was the fourth most commented incident of the Copa.

Neymar’s controversial sending off against Colombia was one of the most tweeted events (CREDIT: AFP)

The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of CANTO and/or its members