CWS gears up for 130th anniversary celebrations |04 February 2023

(L to r) Mrs Hassan, Mr D’Offay, Mr Socrate and Ms Ah-Kong

To celebrate 130 years of existence since its creation on November11, 1893, Cable & Wireless (Seychelles) will be organising a series of activities throughout this year, including revamping its unlimited broadband packages.

It was chief executive Georges D’Offay who made the announcement during a press conference, held yesterday afternoon in the boardroom at the Cable & Wireless (Seychelles) (CWS) customer service centre, first floor, Sunshine House building, Providence. Also present were chief marketing officer Jean Hassan; manager consumer, products and service Daniel Socrate; and consumer market executive Emma Ah-Kong.

The telecom company provides fix voice, mobile, broadband and television services to its clients.

Mr D’Offay said given that CWS has accomplished so much during the 130 years of its evolution, from the use of telegraph cables to the use of the more advanced, high frequency, fibre optic cables, to provide an efficient and a much faster service to customer, “it is fitting that we do celebrate this great achievement together.”

“We, at Cable & Wireless, believe in providing a very good customer experience and this is the reason why we invested in all the technological modems available, including the fibre technology, to give the people of Seychelles the best deals for them to enjoy,” said Mr D’Offay, who noted that the company is proud that all of its services are accessible to its clients through the high frequency fibre optic cables, covering the whole country.

Mr D’Offay stated that while the company strives to give its clients who are all connected to the fibre technology the best quality and high speed services, it also makes sure that the services given are affordable to all.

He called on everyone to join them in celebrating the milestone by participating in the various activities which will be fun and full of surprises.

Speaking of the unlimited broadband offers for the mass market which took effect as of yesterday, Mr Socrate said apart from the existing two unlimited broadband packages, CWS has introduced a new package for consumers for its 130th anniversary.The offers include more speed in the existing two packages at a discount to R2099 (Including value added tax ‒ VAT), R2185 (including VAT) for the Unlimited Lite package that was first launched on April 23, 2022, at a download speed of 4 Mbps followed by another increase in speed at 9 Mbps in July 2022. The download speed is now at 25Mbps. The other existing unlimited broadband package and which was introduced in July 1, 2022 and prized at R999 with a download speed of 5 Mbps and later increased to 9 Mbps, has had its download speed upgraded to 12 Mbps while the price remains the same. The R2099 Unlimited Lite broadband package is now called Unlimited 2099 while the R999 broadband package commonly known as the Unlimited Intro is now called Unlimited 999.

With regard to the newly introduced unlimited broadband package, called Unlimited 1499, Mr Socrate said it will cost R1499 (including VAT) and with a download speed of up to 18 Mbps.

He noted that while the company has borne all of the costs of negotiating for the pathways and installation of the fibre technology, all clients who applied for the unlimited broadband services, as from July 2022, were given free installation including with free modem. CWS was first connected to the subsea fibre cable in 2012 and later connected with the second cable in 2022.

“We did it for free because we realise that this technology is a necessity for people nowadays, which is in line with the government’s strategy to turn the country into a digital economy and we know we have a role to play and this is why we are committed and serious about it,” Mr Socrate said.

Elaborating on the calendar of activities to celebrate CWS’ 130th anniversary, Mrs Hassan said the activities which will be spread out throughout the year will include a grand lottery (with a BMW lX3 as star prize), a mega concert, an exhibition on the history of CWS and a family fun day among many others.

She stated that the details of the activities and the order of events will be communicated to the public within the appropriate time and many surprises will feature among the activities planned.

With regard to the exhibition, she launched an appeal to any members of the public who have any artifacts or souvenirs of CWS from the old days or even today, and are willing to share, to contact the company.

She said the exhibition will be an opportunity for people especially the younger generation to learn more about the telecommunication company.

“The celebration is not for Cable & Wireless but for the whole country. We want everybody to come and participate and celebrate with us the innovations that has happened over the last couple of years,” Mrs Hassan said.

After the press conferences, the staff joined prominent artists Sandra, Auspitious and Ion Kid for the launch of CWS’ theme song.

Text & photos by Patrick Joubert