by TREVOR YEARWOOD

A NEW regional telecommunications giant called LIME hits the road today.

Yesterday, Cable & amp; Wireless (C & amp;W) rebranded the company and made the transition to LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile, Entertainment).

Donald Austin, LIME's vice-chairman and executive vice-president for regulatory and corporate affairs, told reporters during the launch at Hilton Barbados that changes would include reducing the number of call centres in the Caribbean from five to two, and discussions were going on with "local partners" about this.

Press reports have said that as many as 200 Barbadians could lose jobs as a result of this move, but officials did not confirm or deny this.

"We certainly take very seriously any reductions in colleagues across the region," Austin said.

But he made the point that with C & amp;W operating businesses "which in many cases were inefficient, but also patchy in terms of how we actually deliver those services", an overhaul was necessary.

With plans to invest more than US$400 million in the region over the next three years, LIME officials had to ensure they got the operating model right, Austin said.

The company has pledged to pump US$5 million yearly into cultural programmes across the Caribbean and to give primary schoolchildren greater access to the Internet.

Austin said the company will improve its service to customers, increase staff training and offer products and services at a lower cost.

He said LIME came with a 15-point manifesto that included promises such as:

* calls to the customer service centres would be answered within one minute;

* no customer would be without the ability to communicate, via at least one of LIME's services, for more than one day;

* customers and potential customers would not be sold services or products they did not need - even if that meant LIME lost money on a sale; and

* LIME would publish its financial results, making it clear how much it had invested in the region and how much Caribbean shareholders had gained from investing in the business.

LIME has made a commitment to invest in the economic growth of the region and to cut paper wastage by 15 per cent.

On the need to move away from Cable & amp; Wireless, Austin said: "In a business environment which is changing dramatically, we have to . . . review our modelling and make sure that we put forward a model which is sustainable . . . ."

What LIME was offering was a business that was world class in delivery, that offered world class products and services, and that made customers the hub of its operations, Austin said.