CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Brewer of TnT’s newest cellphone provider, Digicel, is boasting in Jamaica that it sold “tens of thousands” of phones in Trinidad and Tobago in only four days.

But industry sources told TnT Mirror that the claim is suspect.

“Is Digicel saying that it sold 200,000 or even 100,000 phones in just four days?” one source asked.

“I wish Digicel could be more specific and back up its claim with authentic evidence.

“You have to remember that TSTT has also been selling as many phones or even more than it did before, such is the competition out there.

Digicel’s STEPHEN BREWER (left) and
prized endorsee DAVID RUDDER.

“In fact, if truth be told, since the actual selling war started, TSTT has beaten Digicel going and coming with its better prices.”

Brewer also told the Jamaican Gleaner that Digicel had received 18,000 applications for 300 positions at its TnT outlets.

“Including quite a few from the employees of TSTT,” he boasted.

Speaking about the reaction to the company’s entrance into the TnT market, Digicel’s billionaire Chairman Irishman Dennis O’Brien said: “Not since our first launching in Jamaica have we had so much excitement.

“In fact, Digicel had already seen a higher uptake of phones in Trinidad than even in its Jamaica and Grenada launches.”

He also spoke about “rip-off-prices” that the public had been forced to pay while TSTT was the sole provider.

O’Brien also insisted that Digicel’s network could take all of TSTT’s existing customers.

But it was noted by Gleaner writer Keith Collister: “Interestingly, in a similar fashion to what happened at Digicel’s launch five-years ago in Jamaica, TSTT’s network crashed during the week of Digicel’s launch …”

TSTT has suggested that its cables have been sabotaged.

Digicel has offered sympathy to TSTT’s predicament.