Saturday, October 7, 2006

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The International Federation of PGA Tours on Friday announced that Digicel, the Caribbean mobile telecommunications operator, has been selected as the preferred wireless communications provider for the World Golf Championships – Barbados World Cup, being held at the Sandy Lane Country Club from December 5 – 10 and involving some of the globe’s top golf stars.

As a result of its partnership with Digicel, the 2006 PGA tour will be the first ever World Golf Championships event to employ all wireless technology, eliminating the traditional and costly requirement of trenching multimillion dollar golf courses for underground telecommunications cabling.

Taking advantage of Digicel’s GSM and Fixed Wireless Broadband technologies, Barbados World Cup officials, administrators and media centers will be provided internet, voice, fax and data services. Digicel will also introduce its latest innovation, the Digicel GSM desk phone, which looks and functions like a standard fixed line phone, but carries a SIM card. The Digicel GSM desk phone also features powerful signal receptors ensuring reliable, crystal voice clarity.

Errol McGlothan, Digicel Marketing Director for its Eastern Caribbean markets, says that being selected by a major international sporting event, such as the PGA, represents an historic milestone for the five-year old company and it is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a preferred provider. He believes that the selection is a strong endorsement of the quality and reliability of Digicel’s cutting-edge technology and services.

“The entire Digicel family is very excited about this opportunity, as it is the first wireless tournament for the World Golf Championships as well as the first time the tournament is being hosted in Barbados. We expect this to bring fantastic global exposure to this beautiful island and we are committed to providing the very best technology possible. We are working closely with the PGA and the Barbados Tourism Authority to ensure a very successful staging of the World Cup of Golf,” said McGlothan.

Digicel is providing all telecommunications services for the event, including hardware and software support for the wireless telecommunications. The company’s personnel will also provide 24-hour technical and customer support for the entire duration of the tournament.

According to Jack Warfield, Vice President of the World Golf Championships, the International Federation of PGA Tours is delighted to be breaking new ground in Barbados with Digicel in its first completely wireless telecommunications solution in the World Cup’s 53-year history.

“Cabling has traditionally been a time and resource-intensive part of our event build-out,” said Warfield. “Digicel’s network will eliminate a significant amount of preparation time, dislocation and expense and this is sure to be a win-win solution for both Digicel and the Tour.”

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