Comcel Haiti
Encyclopedia
Communication Cellulaire d'Haiti, S.A. or (ComCEL), now known as Voilà, is a telephone company
in Haiti
which primarily deals in mobile phone
service. It is a subsidiary of US-based Trilogy International Partners
.
mobile communications network in September 1998. A year later, in September 1999, Comcel launched commercial service in Port-au-Prince
, and has since developed the largest mobile phone coverage area in Haiti.
Comcel, at the same time, was also granted the right to build and operate payphone
services and planned to have over 500 phones in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel
by year-end, with expansion to other provinces in 2006.
In 2002, Comcel was granted the right to operate an international gateway
and began carrying international calls in August of that year.
In August 2005, Comcel received a license to operate a nationwide GSM network that launched on October 21 with nationwide coverage under the Voilà GSM brand, which has become its trade name since.
The company's services temporarily came to halt following the 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake
. While the company's facilities were not seriously affected by the earthquake, 5 of its 575 employees had died and 35 remained missing
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
which primarily deals in mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
service. It is a subsidiary of US-based Trilogy International Partners
Trilogy International Partners
Trilogy International Partners, LLC is an american privately held wireless telecommunications company based out of Bellevue, Washington. Trilogy's international subsidiaries are NuevaTel Bolivia, Comcel Haiti, 2degrees and Viva República Dominicana...
.
History
Comcel was awarded a license to construct and operate a nationwide TDMADigital AMPS
IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS . It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada. D-AMPS is considered end-of-life, and existing networks have mostly been replaced by GSM/GPRS or CDMA2000...
mobile communications network in September 1998. A year later, in September 1999, Comcel launched commercial service in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, and has since developed the largest mobile phone coverage area in Haiti.
Comcel, at the same time, was also granted the right to build and operate payphone
Payphone
A payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....
services and planned to have over 500 phones in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel
Jacmel
Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...
by year-end, with expansion to other provinces in 2006.
In 2002, Comcel was granted the right to operate an international gateway
International gateway exchange
In telephony, an international gateway exchange is a telephone switch that forms the gateway between a national telephone network and one or more other international gateway exchanges, thus providing cross-border connectivity....
and began carrying international calls in August of that year.
In August 2005, Comcel received a license to operate a nationwide GSM network that launched on October 21 with nationwide coverage under the Voilà GSM brand, which has become its trade name since.
The company's services temporarily came to halt following the 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
. While the company's facilities were not seriously affected by the earthquake, 5 of its 575 employees had died and 35 remained missing