C&W Agrees to New WICB Deal

Regional telecommunicatons carrier Cable & Wireless has agreed to a new three-year deal to be the official sponsor of West Indies cricket.

According to well-placed sources, the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) directors will ratify the agreement during meetings in Jamaica between November 2-3 before signing the deal later this month. The extension is valued in the range of $8 million and $9 million.

The new deal, which was negotiated by the new WICB president Teddy Griffith, takes effect in 2005 and runs through the 2007 World Cup.

Cable & Wireless, which is fast losing its telecom monopoly in the Caribbean market, has sponsored the West Indies team during its home series since 1986.

The sponsorship agreement gives Cable & Wireless exclusive rights to be the main/official sponsor of the West Indies Test and ODI teams. The deal also calls for Cable & Wireless to be the official mobile provider and official communications provider of the WICB.

The deal also includes sub-clauses that allows for major C&W branding at grounds throughout the Caribbean, including the logo painted on both ends of the field and on the players' clothing.

The three-year extension comes at a crucial time for Cable & Wireless, which markets voice and data services throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. In recent years political and business leaders have moved to dismantle the company's monopoly and demand that C&W open its networks to spur competition and liberalisation.

Cable & Wireless has been reluctant to let go of the exclusive operating rights it has enjoyed for more than 100 years and the partnership with West Indies cricket will surely help the company's public relations battle.

And it's a nasty public relations fight. Caribbean political and business leaders are accusing Cable & Wireless of price gouging in the regional market. Even worse, the political lobby argues, Cable & Wireless has not used the massive revenues to upgrade infrastructure or extend services into rural areas.

The heaviest anti-Cable & Wireless lobby have come from traditional cricket territories -- Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Antigua.

And the anti-monopoly lobby is picking up steam. Jamaica, Barbados St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada and Dominica have all moved towards full liberalisation.