The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian triple play communications provider last night said it was poised to become “the Caribbean headquarters” for its new majority owner, with local staff numbers increasing to 100 within 12 months of the deal’s closing.

Edison Sumner, IP Solutions International’s (IPSI) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the acquisition by Limitless Mobile, which has mobile phone operations in five European countries, would leave it perfectly positioned to bid on the second Bahamian cellular licence.

He added that the buying power, technical expertise and financial resources that Limitless will bring to bear would help IPSI complete the build-out of its Bahamas-based triple play network, and ensure it could “compete very favourably” with any local rivals.

Mr Sumner said the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), the communications industry regulator, had already approved IPSI’s ‘change of control’ in February 2014. The deal now only awaits the Government’s blessing via the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA).

Asked how many employees IPSI was seeking to hire once the Limitless purchase was complete and approved, Mr Sumner told Tribune Business: “We’re hoping that we can get that number up to 100 in the first 12 months, depending on how quickly we ramp up services.”

He added that IPSI would seek to hire personnel for units such as customer services and back office services within six months of the deal closing.

Mr Sumner promised that “most of the employees” will be Bahamian, with IPSI aiming to build its network throughout the archipelago.

“We have plans to get the business throughout every community in the country,” he told Tribune Business, adding that the Limitless tie-up would give IPSI staff training opportunities abroad. The company also planned to give scholarships to Bahamian high school students.

Mr Sumner said that the network build-out could be completed in around two months, with IPSI ready to offer services to the public in three-six months.

Liberalisation of the Bahamian cellular market is the ‘upside’ opportunity that has attracted Limitless to this nation, and acquiring IPSI will enable it to ‘hit the ground running’ through inheriting the Bahamas-based company’s infrastructure, network and existing licence rights. It also gets access to Bahamian expertise and knowledge of the market.

IPSI, which will ultimately rebrand as Limitless Bahamas, has an individual 15-year operating licence that began on October 28, 2009, and a spectrum licence in the 3400-3800 frequency band.

URCA has also awarded IPSI a provisional license in the 11, 12 and 40GHz frequency spectrum for testing and deployment of its Fibre Through The Air (FTTA) services.

Mr Sumner said the purchase, while will leave IPSI’s existing Bahamian shareholders with a minority equity stake, would lead to structural, management and operational changes.

“They [Limitless] bring a significant buying power, they bring human and technical resources to the company, along with good financial resources and expertise in other markets,” he told Tribune Business.

“We think it will enable us to offer services to the Bahamian community at significantly reduced rates, and enable us to compete very favourably with any other competitor in the country.”

The purchase price being paid by Limitless is undisclosed, with Mr Sumner declining to comment on how much it plans to invest in the Bahamas. It does, though, plan to “move immediately”, and “very rapidly”, to complete build-out of IPSI’s triple play network infrastructure throughout the Bahamas.

IPSI has already deployed most of the infrastructure for its IP TV, Broadband wireless Internet and landline (VoIP) services in New Providence and Abaco.

It has until recently been servicing the communications needs of the Bakers Bay Development on Guana Cay in Abaco for more than three years.

Mr Sumner said the Limitless deal was timed to coincide with cellular market liberalisation, and the planned roll out also potentially includes mobile data and voice services.

“We are anxiously waiting to see what method the Government uses to select the next mobile operator,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business. “We now believe we have the resources to make that happen.

“I think this puts us in a very good position, better than we would have been before the deal. We do have a strong Bahamian presence through the existing shareholders, and this is an opportunity we were waiting for, to tap into these kind of resources.

“Now we have them, there is no telling how far we can go, and being in position for the next mobile licence is a real possibility for us. We are not retreating. We are looking to push this to the next phase.”

Mr Sumner emphasised that the IPSI acquisition was merely the first step in Limitless’s plans to build a strong Caribbean presence.

“We are going to be their first foray into the Caribbean region,” he told Tribune Business. “The Bahamas is going to become the hub for the Caribbean region as far as services are concerned.

“We are looking for the Bahamas to become the headquarters for the Caribbean operation. This is going to be a significant deal for us, where we support the economies of other countries in the region, and they support what we are doing.”

Limitless owns and operates a mobile network in the USA, which is currently being upgraded to 4G/LTE standards. In Europe, it owns and operates a mobile network in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Poland and Sweden.

Limitless Mobile (Bahamas) Board will be chaired by former Governor General, Sir Orville Turnquest. The parent company, Limitless Mobile Holdings, is led by Richard Worley, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Charles Ryan, co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Deutsche UFG, one of Russia’s leading investment companies.

The management team is led by Mr Sumner, who also serves as the chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce.