The commercial director of Digicel Group’s mobile operation in Fiji, Andrew Skelton, has reiterated the operator’s intention to continue upgrading its networks and introduce 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) services this year, but refused to be drawn on an exact date for the launch, Telegeography.com reports. Mr Skelton stated, in an interview with local newspaper Fiji Village, that while plans are underway, the company is still working to secure the proper handsets to support a full-blown launch.

In December last year Skelton said that the company would not forge ahead with its commercial rollout until there were enough lower-cost devices for its end users, adding that in the meantime it would exert pressure on device manufacturers to make cheaper handsets. “It costs FJD700 ($371.3) for a 4G-enabled phone and how many people in the market can actually afford a FJD700 phone?” Mr Skelton said at the time, noting: “I think the misconception in the market is that 4G is here and all the phones can access it – that is not the case.”

Rival operator Vodafone Fiji, meanwhile, stole a march on Digicel when it launched a commercial 4G mobile network in early December 2013.