Five months after officially launching 5G mobile phone service in Bermuda, Paradise Mobile estimates its market penetration is still in the single-digit percentage points, but the firm has big aspirations.

“We want to have at least a third of the mobile market in the next two to three years,” said Brett Corday, chief revenue officer.

They just released two roaming packages. “Once we have enough customers from our mobile service, then we will look at expanding,” Mr Corday said

By early next year the plan is to roll out internet service.

Next month, Sam Tabbara will be speaking about his specially designed advanced 5G virtualised O-RAN network, at the Network X Tech Conference in Paris.

“He is generating a buzz about Bermuda,” Mr Corday said. “Never before in my career in Bermuda has anyone ever said: ‘look at that new tech in Bermuda’. We always seem to be ten years behind.”

Mr Tabbara has spoken about eventually making his technology available to other larger telecommunications firms.

Paradise Mobile’s vision is to start doing that in the next three to five years.

Mr Corday said it is an advantage to be a young company without the burden of legacy equipment, and outdated thinking. He said another plus for them was that they are privately owned, and not answerable to shareholders.

“We are owned by groups of Bermudians and groups of overseas investors,” he said. “No one is pulling the strings. We can just provide good customer service.”

Since Paradise Mobile started operations in May, their competitors have been copying their price plans, according to the telecommunications executive.

“We have definitely seen some flattery in the form of imitation,” Mr Corday said. “For example, we came out with a $99 plan and then so did they. Competition helps Bermuda.

“By supporting a third player, you are supporting competition which means service levels should go up, while costs do not go up. There is a lot of talk from our competitors about how to ‘kill’ Paradise Mobile, but not much about how to make things better for their customers.”

He urged all Bermudians to ask their mobile phone service providers: “What are you doing to improve my level of service?”

Hurricane Ernesto, on August 17, was a proving ground for Paradise Mobile and its technical infrastructure.

“We did take a beating here and there, because it was a hurricane,” Mr Corday said.

However, things went well enough that they were able to launch a free eSIM service during the storm, when people across the island were without power, or were struggling with sluggish data speeds.

“We wanted to give it to anyone who did not have connectivity, so they could stay in touch with their loved ones,” Mr Corday said.

They posted an advertisement on Facebook promising to send people who messaged them an eSIM for free for seven days on their network, no strings attached. They received 100 responses in the first hour after posting.

“That was overwhelming, and then it just kept going,” Mr Corday said. “We ended up getting hundreds of people asking us for service during the storm.”

Since opening a retail space at 24 Reid Street in Hamilton, where Benetton was previously located, they have seen many people stopping in to thank them for their help during the storm.