Laqtel Still Short US$71.4mn for Launch

Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) mobile operator Laqtel still lacks some US$71.4mn in funding to launch a CDMA network in the country, local daily the Trinidad Express reported company founder Dr Joseph Laquis as saying.

Laqtel won a license to operate in T&T in June 2005 along with Caribbean mobile operator Digicel after the market was opened up to foreign companies to compete with incumbent telco TSTT.

Previously the company told the local paper it would launch in March 2007, but now says the company is still waiting on additional funds and has invested US$38.4mn to date.

Laquis now said that it plans to have the company fully funded by mid-April and that it has found three additional foreign investors after coming up short at home.

"We were unable to raise the money in Trinidad, so we had to go abroad," Laquis said.

When the company is fully financed, Laquis expects to have operations running after four or five weeks."

Posted to the site on 16th March 2007