Entrepreneurs: The Cell Islands

Phone upstart Digicel has taken the Caribbean by storm. The company plans to make landfall on the U.S. next year

For most people in the corporate world, the Caribbean is the perfect spot for that next much needed vacation. Irish entrepreneur Denis O'Brien, however, eyed the island nations and saw just one thing: customers. In 2001, O'Brien had a bit of cash burning a hole in his pocket from the $2.46 billion sale of his first telecom venture, Esat Telecom Group PLC. By chance, he came upon a small notice from the government of Jamaica announcing that it was opening its local phone market--long monopolized by British telecom giant Cable & Wireless--to competition. At the time, Jamaicans had to wait an...

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