CCT CEO Averad Penn provides an in-depth look at the vibrant telecom market of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and how Caribbean Cellular Telephone (CCT) meets the growing demand for data and connectivity at the ZTE Broadband User Congress held in late October. CCT is the leading wireless telecommunications provider in the BVI offering various innovative services for business and residential clients.

Can you describe the characteristics and development trends of the BVI’s telecom market?

The British Virgin Islands’ telecom market is really dynamic. It’s a small country with only about 30,000 people. However, our proximity to the US market—we are very close to the US Virgin Islands—places us within the American ecosystem in terms of the media market and so on. Therefore, my customers really expect to have whatever the latest and greatest technology available in America is as soon as it comes out. So, even though we are a small country, we have a dynamic market. Other things special about the British Virgin Islands is that we are a very developed economy for the Caribbean. We have the second highest GDP per capita in the entire Caribbean. So we probably have some of the most tech savvy customers compared to other Caribbean countries. They want all of the latest technology, and that drives the market.  

Consumer demand for connectivity and digital services is rising rapidly. How have you managed to keep up this demand while maintaining high network quality? What key initiatives are being implemented?

The key for us is to realize that consumer demands are exponential. Every year, I talk to people about how much data they are using on their phone, and I know they’re going to use more next year. So we have been continually upgrading our network to try to keep up with this demand. When I took over the company 11 years ago, it was facing a tough time due to a change in ownership. The real lesson learned there was to continue reinvesting in the product. What we do is that we try to set a target in terms of what percentage of our revenue we’ll put back into the network every year to drive it forward. In a sense, we’re not waiting for the demand; we are assuming it’s coming and trying to continually reinvest in the latest and greatest technology in telecommunications.  

From your observation, what are the most popular services and applications that suit local people’s lives?

The most popular thing is Internet. Our company’s name is Caribbean Telephone Cellphone. I remembered one of the first things I said when I took over is that telephone service would become just an app. I didn’t realize how correct I would be moving forward, but everything is about data. We are a data company, and we want to make sure that you have ubiquitous data wherever you go out. We face one of the greatest challenges in the world: connecting everyone in the world, all the time, everywhere, no matter what they are doing. This is a great challenge, but we try to step up to that challenge each and every day.

CCT and ZTE have collaborated in various fields, including fixed-line and mobile. How do you view ZTE as a partner, and what are your expectations for vendors like ZTE?

One of the reasons I am here today is that ZTE is not just a vendor to me; they are truly a partner. They have walked this journey alongside us—when they develop, we develop. It’s not a simple buyer-seller relationship; it’s about what you see coming around the corner and what you see happening in other markets. They are working in more markets than we are, so they know what’s best in class in this area and that area. Thus, it’s becoming a collaborative relationship: we bring local expertise, while they bring a wealth of technology experience being a global provider to our small corner of the world.

How do you envisage the digital lifestyle of the BVI in the next three years and what will be your priorities?

I think we are in a never-ending trend. The COVID pandemic has really pushed the market forward by about 10 years in terms of digitalization and connectivity. We don’t see any return to the old world. Everything is connected right now. We have to face that challenge—whether being connected wired or wirelessly. Therefore, we are trying to converge these two worlds—the world of wireless connectivity and that of wired connectivity—to give you ubiquitous connectivity. That’s where we see the future going and the future we want to be a part of.

I’ve been to a lot of conferences and people say you are never more than 6 feet away from your cellphone, and I think that’s a true statement. The first thing most people do after waking up in the morning is check their phone, and the last thing they do before sleeping is check their messages, their emails and what’s going on in this website or that. This is part of people’s lives, and we want to be an integral part of this revolution and the full digitalization of society.