Thursday, June 22, 2006

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Digicel, the fastest growing mobile telecommunications company in the Caribbean, has announced a strategic and ground-breaking partnership with KONKA Group, a leading television and mobile phone manufacturer in China, to sell KONKA's wide range of cutting-edge advanced GSM mobile handsets across Digicel's twenty Caribbean markets.

Digicel is the first overseas partner for KONKA and the relationship marks the Chinese company's entrance into the Caribbean market, one of the highest mobile growth regions in the world. With a total population of 40 million, conservative estimates expect the Caribbean market for mobile communications to reach a subscriber base of 17.1 million, a 47 percent increase from its current position of 11.6 million, according to EMC World Cellular Database.

Digicel and KONKA will work together to market a range of cutting-edge handsets at competitive prices including the 'exclusive to Digicel' offer of the popular D163 slim phone with MP3/MP4 playback and 1.3 pixel camera with flash and 4X digital zoom. The KONKA D163 was released in China in March 2006 and Digicel expects to introduce this model to its Caribbean markets this summer as well as launching an exciting new portfolio of KONKA phones throughout the remainder of 2006. The relationship with KONKA began prior to December 2005 with the sale of their two signature models the EC001 and the C926.

"We have been very impressed by the quality of the handsets and the response from our customers across our markets particularly in Haiti, Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean," said David Hall, CEO of Digicel Jamaica. "KONKA is a quality brand, and we are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship, where we can offer our customers exclusive handsets at an even greater range of prices to match their financial resources."

KONKA's full range of Digicel handsets will be showcased at the Jamaica Reggae Sunfest, the largest and most popular reggae festival in the world held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in July 2006. KONKA is partnering with Digicel in sponsoring the festival this year and both companies will mark the occasion with the launch of a new handset model to the Jamaica mobile market.

According to Board Chairman Huang Zhongtian at KONKA Telecommunications, "We are very pleased with our partnership with Digicel and our expansion into the Caribbean market, which like China shares a position as one of the fastest growing regions in terms of mobile penetration. Digicel's commitment to providing it customers with affordable and innovative mobile across the Caribbean makes them an ideal partner for KONKA as we enter this new market. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership."

KONKA Group Company, Ltd. is a global consumer electronics manufacturer and among China's 100 largest enterprises and a leading domestic brand. China ranks number one worldwide in the production of televisions, video cameras, VCR players, telephones, electronic watches, calculators, refrigerators, and air conditioners, among other electronics. In addition to holding 25 percent of the Chinese TV market, KONKA estimates its brand will represent 10 percent of China's handset share in 2006 and the number one mobile phone provider in the market.

With over US$ 1 billion invested in the Caribbean, Digicel is the largest GSM operator in the region. With its recent launch in Haiti in May 2006, Digicel sees tremendous potential growth for KONKA phones given the country's low cellular penetration estimated at 3.4 percent of the population.

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