Grenada is Slowly Progressing Towards High Speed 4G

Grenada is an island country consisting of Grenada itself and six smaller islands in the southeastern Caribbean. It's located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. About 126,000 inhabitants live on 348.5 km2 area.

Like on many Caribbean Islands there are these two usual providers: Digicel Grenada and Flow (by Cable & Wireless). Flow is the incumbent provider and Digicel came to the Caribbean 2001-6 to end this monopoly and has since become market leader in Grenada by aggressive marketing.

2G is on European bands while 3G is on US bands. Both operators have 2G/GSM on 900 and 1800 MHz. For 3G Flow uses 850 MHz (CLR band 5) while Digicel employs 1900 MHz (PCS band 2). 

Digicel Grenada, launched commercial 700MHz LTE network services in December 2018.

Flow addressed widespread criticism over the quality of its fixed broadband services by announcing it has spent XCD15 million (USD5.6 million) to provide faster web browsing for its subscriber base. As a result, they have been able to increase speeds from 15Mbps to 50Mbps, putting the country ‘on par’ with many developing nations.

Recently Grenadians have become more and more dissatisfied with the services provided by FLOW and Digicel. Many customers have reported losing money due to various reasons, including sudden deactivation of their numbers despite having substantial account balances. This issue raises significant concerns regarding transparency and accountability within these companies. Additionally, the quality of telephone and internet services provided by both FLOW and Digicel has been deemed unacceptable by many customers, particularly in rural areas where Flow Landline and broadband services have experienced prolonged outages.

In light of these failings, it is imperative that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) in Grenada takes proactive measures to ensure that these companies meet accepted standards. If the NTRC fails to fulfill its responsibilities, it may be necessary for the government to intervene by considering potential changes in board membership.