Patrick Drahi, founder of Altice, the company that has bought both Tricom and Orange Dominicana to become a major player in the Dominican telecom market, is pledging that they have come to compete by offering better quality products for better prices. During a press conference held yesterday, Thursday 12 December, he spoke of the impact of the deal on the government and Dominican consumers.
Altice has made available US$1.8 billion for the purchase of 88% of Tricom (US$400 million) and 100% of Orange (US$1.4 billion). This sale represents US$360 million windfall for the Dominican government in taxes.
During the press conference, Drahi announced that they would be simplifying services in order to benefit consumers. For instance, he said that subscribers using Tricom’s Triple Play plan have a separate box for telephone, another for the Internet and a third for the TV services. He said his clients in Paris have only one box, which is more cost-effective and reliable. He announced an investment of around US$130 million a year. He said they would be using the same technology here that is used in Paris or Tel Aviv where they have major operations.
He said that in the Dominican Republic everyone is buying low-quality products and paying normal prices. He said his idea is to offer high-quality products for a normal price and low-quality products for a low price. By doing this, he says they will increase earnings for the company and improve the services in the country. He observed that is the competition follows suit, it will be good for the country because it will require more investment.
The Altice products will be marketed under the Orange brand name. The company will be offering fixed line, mobile, Internet and TV services. He said the company is No. 2 in the French market in paid TV services.
Drahi announced that the company is in conversations with two Dominican families that could invest 20-30% in the telecom business.
Altice says it will be implementing new technologies using fiber optic and 4G for all the country.
The press conference was also attended by Marc Rocher, chief operations executive for Tricom, Altice CEO Jean-Michel Hegesippe, Orange president Jean-Michel Garrouteight, and Eduardo Valcarcel, communications vice president for Orange.
www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/12/13/altice-afirma-vino-competir-fuerte-mercado