From left: FLOW General Manager, Mr Tim R. Ringsdore; Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of BVIEC, Mrs Pearl Smith; Chairman of BVIEC Board, Mr Ron R. Potter and BVIEC General Manager, Mr Leroy A. E. Abraham at the signing of the agreement on June 23, 2016. Photo: Provided

The agreement signed on Thursday June 23, 2016 paves the way for FLOW to use the BVIEC’s fibre optic cable to Virgin Gorda, which would in turn mean faster internet and more reliable mobile services for those customers.

At the signing of the milestone agreement at FLOW’s Head Office in Palestina Estate in Sea Cows Bay, Tortola were Managing Director of FLOW, Mr Tim R. Ringsdore; Chairman of the Board of Directors of BVIEC, Mr Ron R. Potter; Vice Chairman, Mrs Pearl Smith and General Manager, Leroy A. E. Abraham.

Mr Ringsdore labelled the signing of the agreement as “a major milestone” between the two companies and that has been a pleasure working with Mr Abraham and the BVIEC team over the last few months.

“I think we’ve done it pretty quickly in terms of moving forward, and for us it’s going to give us a great opportunity to expand our services not just into Virgin Gorda but the other outlying islands as well. So this is the first step of some further investment that’s going to take place in Virgin Gorda.”

Mr Ringsdore added that FLOW has already rolled out some equipment into Virgin Gorda to begin connectivity to the fibre optic cable. This will mean that customers on Virgin Gorda will be able to receive superfast broadband speeds mainly in Spanish Town to start with, but as FLOW rolls out the network further North Sound and the other outer islands will get to enjoy significant improvement to their services.

 “For us, there is a great opportunity here. The key thing is that we’re going to provide a much better experience to those customers on Virgin Gorda, and without this partnership, frankly, it would’ve probably taken us a lot longer, so thank you very much indeed and I look forward to a long and prosperous future between us,” Mr Ringsdore told BVIEC officials at the signing.

Mr Abraham expressed that the agreement was a timely one and that it was also looking forward to improved services not only in Virgin Gorda but in Anegada as well.”

“We are delighted that the BVIEC has been able to support FLOW in expanding their telecommunications service to Virgin Gorda. We have a very reliable and resilient fibre solution between the islands and by Flow utilizing our facilities will enable them to provide a far great customer experience to their customers. We are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial arrangement and we are delighted that between our two companies, new world class solutions will be enabled in Virgin Gorda and the outer Islands over the coming years,” Mr Abraham said.